The Path of Despair
by Chameleon777
Summary: What if Nero had been too strong for the Enterprise and had managed to cripple the Earth and Starfleet's finest in one blow? This is an alternate ending to Star Trek 2009/Before Time and it shows how a simple Starfleet crew struggles to survive with the Earth a barren wasteland and Enterprise their permanent home.
1. The Beginning of the End

2258 – Starfleet Academy

"Graduation's in a few hours, Jim," Leonard said, grumpier than usual because he and Arianne had just broken up for the final time and she was now elsewhere. "Why are you even in here?"

Jim, who had slipped to their dorm to get some shut eye before he had to face what they had left of Starfleet and their class, sighed as he flopped down on the bed, "I'm just having a nap, Bones."

"Do I need to hustle you over to Medical?" Leonard asked worriedly. "You look kind of beat."

Jim sighed and closed his eyes, "The last few weeks have been crazy," he said in a tired voice. "I…"

"I can get you a hypo," Leonard offered grumpily. "It's not like I have anything else to do."

Jim, however, was asleep and found himself dreaming what would have happened if he hadn't succeeded or if Nero was smarter. What would have happened to all of them if Nero had won?

April 2258 – Narada

"Nero, order your men to disable the drill, or I—"

The blow was quick and heavy. Jim found himself knocked to the floor and quickly restrained by strong hands. His eyes met those of Nero's and fear immediately dominated the person that was James Kirk.

"You're a fool," Nero hissed menacingly as he pulled a knife from his coat. "You're going to fail and I'm going to take you and your life as a reminder. Your worthless self now belongs to me."

Jim shook his head, "Over my dead body," he hissed in a tone of vengeance. "I belong to no one."

Nero easily kick-flipped Jim on to his stomach and touched the tip of the knife to Jim's spine, "This knife contains a poison that induces fast and painful paralysis," he hissed as he prepared to stab Jim. "Your world will be destroyed and Spock will be left alone, deprived of your friendship at his doing, at his will."

"You will be stopped," Jim gasped, struggling to fight back. "Spock will succeed and you will fail."

Nero cackled and stroked Jim's spine with the blade, "You wish, Kirk," he hissed. "Victory to me."

With a roar, Nero plunged the knife into Jim's back and Jim let out a scream that faded into silence.

On the Enterprise, Arianne came into the transporter room and saw Scotty working at the controls with a strained expression on his face. "Any sign of Jim and Spock yet, Monty?" she asked, very worried.

"Nay lassie," Scotty replied in a worried voice. "Tis well past the time they should have been back."

Arianne was silent for a moment and then Leonard suddenly came into the room, "The Bridge is reporting that Jim's signal is untraceable and Captain Pike has not been located yet," he stated in a worried tone. "Sensors have also detected a small ship containing the green-blooded hobgoblin-"

"What did I tell you about calling Spock that, Leonard?" Arianne said in a stern voice.

Leonard sighed and ignored the look Scotty was giving him, "Sorry," he replied. "I'm just worried."

"And you think I'm not?" Arianne replied as she gently patted his hand. "This plan was a bad idea."

The ship suddenly rocked, sending Arianne flying into the transporter console, "Attention Enterprise, this is Captain Nero," a grave voice suddenly spoke over the intercom. "My ship has disabled your weapons, your communications relay, and I have taken your precious Captain Kirk as a prisoner. As a show of my power before I destroy your world, I will perform one final act of hope deprivation."

Without warning, the ship rocked again and Arianne suddenly gasped in pain and dematerialized.

"Arianne!" Leonard shouted, his heart pounding wildly. "Scotty, try and get her back!"

Before Scotty could try however, a light began flashing on the transporter console, "Aye got a transport signal coming in fast," he said in an anxious voice. "Maybe it's Spock and Kirk. Energizing now."

Scotty quickly worked the controls and Leonard was horrified to see that Spock alone materialized.

"Where's Jim and Captain Pike?" Leonard asked, his voice full of concern. "Spock, what happened?"

Spock, however, had no sufficient reply and instead, he turned and looked blankly at the transporter pad. He had failed spectacularly and now both Jim and Captain Pike were prisoners of Nero.

"You need time to learn proper respect," Ayel hissed as he dragged a battered Arianne into the filthy evacuation room of the Narada and over to a filth encrusted escape pod, which he quickly opened.

Since her hands were bound, Arianne was powerless to stop Ayel from shoving her roughly into the pod and sealing her in with a lock of the door. She heard a hatch open and felt the pod being thrust outward.

Thoughts of her father suffering indescribable torture crossed Arianne's mind as she felt the pod floating through space. A sudden explosion caused the pod to quake and send Arianne to the floor of it.

The last thing Arianne remembered was sudden, deafening cracking sounds from outside the pod. She could see the Earth from the pod as the two got farther apart and everything was darkening.

Two ships above her engaged in a vicious firefight; the Narada and the Enterprise and it looked as if the Enterprise was losing badly. Arianne then knew in her heart that Jim had failed and all was lost.

Suddenly, a blast of weapons fire hit the pod and it careened off into the blackness of deep space.


	2. Scattered Stars

_**September 2258**_

 _ **Earth**_

The sky was gray and light snow fell around Jim as he slowly limped down the barren street where downtown San Francisco used to be before Nero's drill had drastically altered the ecosystem. His makeshift walking stick swept across the ground with the intent of alerting Jim to any barriers he might come across that could cause him to drop the bag of groceries he had gotten from the only store for 100 miles. Shopkeepers had died and many buildings had wasted away and it was now constantly cold.

Pain shot through Jim's back as he suddenly turned and headed towards one of the dilapidated buildings near where Starfleet Academy used to be. Through what little vision he had, he could see that the door was ajar and that Captain Pike was sitting at the table, silently putting something together.

"I fixed your glasses, Jim," Captain Pike said calmly without looking up as Jim entered the house.

Jim sighed as he set the bag of groceries on the table and hunched over, "My back," he whimpered, gripping the table with his worn fingers. "My eyes are getting worse and soon, I'll be totally blind."

Captain Pike looked up from his work with a frown on his face as Jim straightened up and used his walking stick to feel his way to one of the beds, "I finished the comm device," he said quietly. "If I can send a distress code out and it's picked up, maybe we can get someone…anyone to come help us."

"Or the Narada pops back from the Laurentian System and Nero finishes us off," Jim replied as he sat down on the bed he had managed to put together for himself from debris. "It's snowing again…"

Jim suddenly broke off in a massive coughing fit that prompted him to start wheezing, "Crap," Captain Pike said, quickly wheeling his makeshift wheelchair over to Jim. "Just hold on a minute, Jim."

Making a fist, Captain Pike pounded hard on Jim's back until the wheezing stopped, "You should use that phaser under your pillow to finish me off and then go find help," Jim breathed. "I can't keep doing this…"

Captain Pike sighed and pulled Jim into a hug, unsurprised when Jim dissolved into tears because it had been a very rough few months. Nero had tortured Jim severely before dumping them both on what was left of the Earth and taking off to the Laurentian System to finish off what was left of Starfleet.

* * *

 ** _USS Enterprise_**

A quiet buzzer echoed through Spock's quarters, but the bed was empty and Spock was already awake and silently dressing for the day. He had to check on the Vulcan groups clustered throughout the ship and have breakfast with his father before going to the Bridge to start his Captain duties.

Spock only briefly looked in the mirror before turning away, as all he would see was a pair of haunted eyes that were haunted from loss. He had taken upon himself the role of Captain unwillingly, but he had had no other choice. The Enterprise was now a home for many and that home needed order.

Once he was as presentable as he could get, Spock silently left his quarters with his PADD in hand full of things he needed to work through that day. The walk to the Mess Hall was short and unsurprisingly, Leonard was there and sitting at a corner table alone, silently brooding and drinking coffee while reading an old fashioned Alcoholics Anonymous book from his small collection of real books.

"Doctor McCoy," Spock said tonelessly, not surprised when Leonard silently looked up at him.

Leonard sighed, swallowing hard because he knew that he had strict orders to remain civil on duty even if he was heartbroken over the loss of two friends, "Yes?" he asked in a quiet, tired voice.

"Your desire to consume alcohol has increased," Spock spoke quietly. "Would meditation help?"

Leonard scoffed, "I honestly tried to ask the Vulcans for help, but they told me that I'm too distracted and unteachable," he replied gruffly. "I'm really trying to get over losing two close friends and…"

"I will speak to my father about assisting you," Spock spoke tonelessly. "I do understand."

Leonard shrugged and returned to his book, knowing that even if he gave into the desire to drink, there wasn't any alcohol left on board because it had been recycled to increase replicator rations. Spock silently moved away to the table where he and his father had shared breakfast daily, unsurprised to see that Sarek was already there and silently helping himself to a bowl of strawberries with a fork.

"Father," Spock replied tonelessly. "I request that you assist Doctor McCoy with meditation."

Sarek raised an eyebrow, "Doctor McCoy is emotionally compromised over the loss of James Kirk and over the loss of Arianne," he reasoned tonelessly. "I would be willing if he were to ask for help."

"He has tried," Spock replied tonelessly. "The elders have told him he is unteachable."

Before Sarek could reply, the intercom blipped, "Captain Spock to Bridge," a voice spoke.

Spock sighed, took a strawberry from Sarek's bowl, and bit into it as he left the Mess Hall.

* * *

The Bridge was heavily damaged and quiet, as all of the officers were tired and had nothing to say to one another. Nyota, however, had hit a signal that seemed unusual, but perfectly legitimate.

"Why was I called to the Bridge?" Spock asked as he strode out from the turbolift and immediately noticed Nyota working anxiously at the Communications station. "Lieutenant, what is it?"

Nyota frowned and pointed to a blip on the screen, "I'm picking up a faint distress signal from Delta Vega," she replied in a worried, confused voice. "I've tried coming Mister Scott about it, but…"

"Fascinating," Spock replied tonelessly as he went to his chair and sat down, immediately noticing that Pavel and Hikaru were in their designated spots early. "Mister Chekov, set a course for Delta Vega."

Hikaru whispered to Pavel, "Is there a problem?" Spock asked, observing Hikaru's worried look.

"Nyet, keptin," Pavel responded quietly, his hands shaking as he inputted commands. "Course set."

Spock raised an eyebrow, "Engage," he replied tonelessly, tapping the conn. "Mister Scott?"

"Aye," Scotty's tired voice came over the conn. "What do ye want, Captain Spock?"

Spock sighed, "A signal is originating from Delta Vega," he replied. "Do you have knowledge of it?"

"I'm coming," Scotty replied with a sigh, prompting Spock to suddenly feel deep confusion.

* * *

 ** _Delta Vega_**

Keenser grunted, prompting Arianne, who was now nearly three months pregnant and beginning to show, to look up from the computer console she was working at, "What?" she asked tiredly.

"I believe he is telling you that it is time to eat food and rest," Ambassador Spock, who had rescued Arianne from the pod three months earlier and had done his best to help her be comfortable, said in a gravelly voice as he approached the table where Arianne worked. "You and your child could use both."

Arianne nodded and sighed heavily, saving her work before she stood up and followed both Keenser and the elderly Ambassador over to a table where meals had been shared, "I have made a pudding from the rations to escape the monotony," Ambassador Sarek said, offering her a bowl. "It is quite good."

"Thank you," Arianne replied in a quiet voice as she ate. "If it weren't for you, we'd be dead…"

Ambassador Spock nodded and sighed, "You miss your thy'la," he observed in a quiet voice.

"Leonard didn't even know," Arianne replied quietly, quickly finishing her food. "And Jim's gone…"

Keenser grunted and offered her a waterpack, which she took and consumed gratefully, "If you wish to rest now, I can take my turn watching over the outpost," Ambassador Sarek offered gently.

Nodding, Arianne reached into her pocket and extracted a phaser that she had found after arriving at the outpost and had shared with the Ambassador for the last few months. She handed it to him and then moved from the table to the small bed she had been given to rest whenever she needed it.

Keenser automatically sat at the foot of the bed as if guarding them, "Thank you, Keenser," Arianne spoke, wondering if he could understand her at all or was just comforted by the tone of her voice.

As Arianne lay down to rest, a loud klaxon suddenly filled the outpost and Ambassador Spock ran over to the large communications console, "There is a ship in the system," he reported in a gravelly voice.

"A ship?" Arianne asked in a concerned voice as she slowly sat up. "Don't tell me Nero's back."

Ambassador Spock shook his head, "It is a Starfleet vessel," he replied, tapping the controls.

* * *

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	3. A Piece of the Puzzle

_**USS Enterprise**_

"…Zere are seegnals of life veethen ze outpost," Pavel spoke in a shaking voice as he stood alongside Scotty at the scanners. "Eet might be safer, zo, to take a shuttle zere eenstead of beaming zem…"

Scotty sighed, "Lad, a shuttle would crash," he replied in a worried voice. "It's probly Keenser."

"Lieutenant Uhura, please hail the station," Spock said tonelessly, ending the argument.

Nyota nodded and quickly hailed the station, "…What do you want, Starfleet vessel?" an angry, yet very familiar voice responded through the comm channel. "Why didn't you come any sooner?"

"That's…" Hikaru said in a stunned voice, hardly able to believe his ears. "I thought she was dead?"

Spock stood there, dumbstruck by the sound of Arianne's voice, "Can you only get audio?" he finally asked in a shaken voice, gazing at Nyota. "Arianne, would you be adverse to being beamed up?"

"Spock?" Arianne's voice replied quietly. "I would prefer that a small rescue party beam down."

Nyota looked concerned, but Spock looked calm, "Very well," he replied tonelessly. "Please transmit your coordinates to the ship and a small landing party will beam to you in a few minutes."

"Coordinates are coming through," Nyota reported as information appeared on her screen.

Spock nodded, "Lieutenant Uhura, please inform Doctor McCoy to meet you and I in the transporter room," he instructed tonelessly. "Lieutenant Sulu, please take command while I am down there."

"Spock, I don't understand why you need me," Nyota spoke anxiously as she stood up. "I…"

Spock sighed as they went to the turbolift, "If I know Lieutenant Pike, she will have kept logs during her stay on the outpost and I need you to collect them," he replied tonelessly, entering the lift. "Additionally, I believe your presence will endear Lieutenant Pike to coming aboard the Enterprise."

Back on the Bridge, Hikaru looked worriedly over at Pavel, who was horribly pale and was stroking his sleeve as if he wanted to roll it up and cut himself with whatever was around, "Pasha," Hikaru whispered softly, worried for his friend. "Pasha, please don't let your mind go there today."

"Eeet eez so hard, Heekaru," Pavel whispered back, sorrow in his tone. "I see zeir looks eweryday."

Hikaru sighed and silently moved over to the command chair, watching as Pavel stopped stroking his sleeve and rested his hands on the console, knowing that he had to try and resist the temptation.

* * *

 _Delta Vega Outpost_

Arianne sighed as she silently folded the blanket that she had slept under for the last three months with Keenser at her feet. No matter what, she knew she would probably be forced to leave the outpost and get better medical care simply because of her condition. Keenser and the Ambassador would also probably be forced to leave and go with her. The outpost was simply no place to raise a child.

"Three people are prepared to beam down," Ambassador Spock's voice suddenly spoke.

A wave of nausea suddenly hit Arianne and she ran into the aged fresher and began retching, cringing when she heard the sound of the transporter, "Who's getting sick?" she heard a gruff voice ask.

The sound of Leonard's Southern drawl caused Arianne to freeze and remain out of sight as she leaned against the wall to recover from vomiting. From her hiding place, she could see Ambassador Spock and Keenser communicating with Spock and Nyota, but she couldn't see Leonard anywhere around.

Suddenly, Arianne felt hands gently touch her back, "Good to see you again, darlin'," she heard Leonard gently whisper in her ear. "This bathroom has a back door, so I thought I'd surprise you."

Arianne turned and Leonard's eyes widened as he caught sight of her belly, "Um," she spoke softly.

Leonard silently got a medical tricorder out of his pocket, "How far along?" he asked quietly.

"I conceived at the Academy," Arianne spoke softly, giving Leonard a pleading look. "Len…"

Leonard froze and his eyes went wide, "It's mine," he concluded softly. "Oh…oh wow."

Swallowing hard, Arianne silently left the bathroom and walked over to the communications terminal where Nyota and Ambassador Spock were working, "…You green blooded hobgoblin!" Leonard's angry voice echoed through the outpost. "I had a feeling you knew about it cause you're close to her!"

Nyota looked at Arianne worriedly, "Are you all right?" she asked softly. "You look exhausted."

Tears filled Arianne's eyes and she simply walked into the back of the outpost, too emotionally drained, tired, hungry, and cold to deal with Leonard's arguing with Spock. She silently sat on a bench near the antique heater system and sighed when Keenser silently approached and cuddled against her leg.

"…You idiots need to stop arguing like little kids!" Nyota's angry voice rang out. "Arianne's upset…"

There were footsteps and Arianne frowned as Keenser silently growled at Spock as he approached, "My intention was not to upset you," Spock said tonelessly. "Doctor McCoy suspected that I was aware…"

"The last few months have been very hard, Spock," Arianne replied softly. "The Earth was damaged…"

Spock nodded, "It may yet be safe for exploration," he replied tonelessly. "Perhaps in time."

"I'm so tired," Arianne replied softly, slowly getting to her feet. "I need to help pack things up."

Spock shook his head, "I think the best thing for you to do would be to go on board the Enterprise and rest," he said tonelessly. "You have been through a great deal and rest would be beneficial for you."

Arianne nodded and Spock silently led her over to the transporter, Leonard hurried over to them and joined her on the pad, "Energize and hurry up about it," he growled before Arianne could speak.

The Enterprise transporter room came into view and Scotty gaped at the two of them like he had seen a ghost, but Arianne was beginning to feel very woozy and promptly passed out in Leonard's arms.

* * *

 _ **Sickbay**_

"I heard ze rumor too, but I am here to get a dermal regenerator," Leonard heard a quiet voice say as he sat in his office, silently updating Arianne's file with her logs from Delta Vega. "Just keep a vatch out."

Leonard frowned and silently watched as Hikaru lingered by the entrance to the patient bay looking both scared and worried while Pavel snuck into the patient bay, ignoring all of the patient beds. He silently went over to a medical cupboard, quietly opened it, and extracted a dermal regenerator.

Deeply confused, Leonard got up from his desk and moved out, tapping Hikaru on the shoulder, "Uh oh," Hikaru said in a worried voice as he turned and saw Leonard. "I thought you would be…"

"Too busy to notice Chekov stealing from my Sickbay?" Leonard replied sharply. "Sulu, really?"

A quiet sniffle came from the patient bay and Leonard and Hikaru silently watched as Pavel took a seat on the small stool beside the biobed where Arianne lay sleeping, "I vas going to keel myself today dureeng ze ewening sheeft," Pavel spoke softly, his eyes brimming with tears. "It vas getting too hard…"

Hikaru gasped and Leonard silently strode into the patient bay, gently putting a hand on Pavel's shoulder, "Come on," Leonard spoke softly. "Arianne's all right, but you obviously aren't."

Pavel shook his head and allowed himself to be helped up and guided over to an empty biobed, sighing when the curtain was drawn around the bed, "Take all your clothes off," Leonard instructed.

Nodding, Pavel silently stripped, revealing deep cuts all over his body, "Ugh, Pavel," Leonard said in a concerned voice, gently examining Pavel's skin. "Some of these look old. How long have you been…?"

"Seence Spock came back from ze Narada alone," Pavel replied tearfully. "Ze Wulcans geeve me zese looks of loathing and Ambassador Sarek sends me nasty leetle messages on my email…"

Leonard sighed and gently took the dermal regenerator away, "I'll fix you up and give you some fluids and then I'll go have a talk with Captain Spock," he spoke softly. "He has to know about this, Pavel."

"Yes," Pavel replied softly, shivering from the cold air. "I expect zat I vill be in trouble for zis."

Not sure how Spock would react to this, Leonard focused on silently repairing Pavel's injuries, knowing that they not only needed capable officers; they needed officers who were mentally and physically able to carry out their duties. Even so, it wasn't as if Starfleet had any officers to spare at the moment.

* * *

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	4. Troublesome Circumstances

**_Two Days Later_**

 ** _USS Enterprise_**

"It's not much, but I don't mind sharin' it," Leonard said quietly as he led Arianne into his quarters, which were on the same deck as Spock's and the Mess Hall. "I could give you your dad's if you…"

Arianne sighed, gazing at the sparsely decorated quarters, "It's fine," she replied in a tired voice.

Leonard nodded, "You can have my bed," he offered kindly. "I'll sleep out here on the couch."

"Could you sleep with me?" Arianne asked softly, touching Leonard's arm. "You're warm."

Leonard looked surprised, "Darlin', I'm not about to take advantage of you just because I knocked you up," he replied in a concerned voice. "You had some food, but you and that baby need rest too."

Arianne scowled, "I know you're angry that I didn't tell you and you think I told Spock!" she snapped in an upset voice as she stormed into the bedroom. "I didn't tell Spock anything about it, you idiot!"

"If you didn't tell Spock, how did he find out?" Leonard replied in an upset voice. "Spock's…"

Arianne swore as she stormed out of the bedroom, "Spock's able to figure crap out that the rest of us can't, Leonard Horatio!" she shouted. "While I've been stuck on that frozen rock for the last three months, you've been up here and safe! You have no clue what those Romulans put me through before they shot me off into space in a cramped pod. You're a great doctor, but you suck at everything else!"

Swearing angrily, Arianne stormed out of his quarters, leaving a shocked and angry Leonard alone.

* * *

 ** _Captain's Ready Room_**

"Would you care for some spice tea, Ensign?" Spock asked tonelessly as he got a cup of spice tea from the replicator and moved his chair back behind his desk using his legs. "It may help you feel better."

Pavel didn't reply, deeply shaken by the fact that he was on medical restriction from duty and confined to quarters because of his self-harming. He had been given a pair of clean clothes to wear over the many bandages he now sported all over his body. Leonard had personally gone into his quarters, sorted through his few things, and had removed everything that could be used to do further self-harming.

"Ensign Chekov, please respond to my query," Spock replied patiently. "Would you like some tea?"

Pavel shook his head, but didn't say anything, "I have read Doctor McCoy's report on your self-inflicted injuries and the steps he has taken in response," Spock spoke tonelessly. "Please explain yourself."

"I am ze reason your mozzer eez dead, keptin," Pavel spoke softly. "I vas not fast enough."

Spock sighed, but said nothing, "Your fazzer and ze ozzer Wulcans all hate me and your fazzer has sent me seweral messages berating me for my veakness," Pavel spoke softly. "I also lost Quirk and Keptin Pike because I vas not able to lock onto zem. Ze shields on ze Romulan wessel vere too much…"

"I will converse with the Vulcan elders about their behavior, but your self-destructive behavior must cease immediately," Spock replied tonelessly. "You are a capable officer and if you continue in this behavior, it will end up destroying you and if you are lost, your abilities are lost to the Enterprise."

Pavel sighed, "Yes sir," he replied softly. "Lieutenant Pike coming back has calmed me a beet…"

"I would ask you to confide in her about your troubles," Spock spoke tonelessly. "I…"

There was a gasp on the Bridge and Spock frowned before getting up and going out to investigate, only to find Leonard standing by the command chair, "I thought she'd be up here," Leonard said bitterly.

Spock raised an eyebrow in confusion and Leonard looked around at the skeleton Gamma shift crew before sighing, "Arianne and I had a fight and she took off," Leonard admitted in a worried voice.

"What exactly did you say to provoke her into leaving?" Spock asked in a curious voice.

Leonard scowled, "I would advise you to give Lieutenant Pike some space and then attempt to apologize," Spock said tonelessly as he moved over to the command chair and sat. "I would also recommend that you focus on improving her health instead of engaging in conflict with her, as I will need every able-bodied officer to be on duty when we arrive at the location of our next assignment."

"Next assignment?" Leonard asked in a shocked voice. "I thought Starfleet was toast when…"

Spock sighed, "We are going to be scanning the Earth for survivors of the Narada's drill attack," he replied tonelessly, cutting Leonard off mid-rant. "I have decided that Lieutenant Pike will serve as my First Officer as her condition allows. We are currently en route to what is left of the Earth."

Leonard frowned, "I guess I'd better start working on an apology, then," he replied quietly.

"Sir, I am going to go to bed," Pavel said in a quiet voice as he came out of the Ready Room.

Spock turned to Pavel and nodded, "We will continue the discussion in the morning, Ensign Chekov," he said tonelessly, content when Pavel nodded. "Be sure to get some supper before you rest."

Leonard sighed and followed Pavel off of the Bridge, anxious to see if he could do something right.

* * *

 ** _San Francisco, Earth_**

Anxiety filled Jim as he stumbled through the door of the dilapidated house, terrified about what had went down while he had been at the store. Captain Pike was asleep in his bed, his wheelchair close if he needed anything. The table was filled with supplies that had been painstakingly put together.

"Jim?" Captain Pike called out sleepily, knowing Jim had returned. "Did you get the groceries?"

Swallowing hard, Jim felt his way over to the sink and proceeded to throw up, prompting Captain Pike to wake up, "Jim?" Captain Pike asked in a concerned voice, eyeing Jim's shaking hands. "Your hands…"

"We have to get out of here," Jim breathed in an anxious voice. "Marky blew up the store."

Captain Pike frowned as Jim felt his way over to the bed and helped him sit up, "I was looking at some Intermediate Braille books to get with the groceries and there were other people in there getting stuff," Jim explained in an anxious voice, his hands trembling. "There's not many left around this area because they've all moved inland to try and escape the cold, but the few that are left besides us are civilians with bad tempers. One of them had a gun and Marky warned the dude to cool it or he would set off the…"

"The Academy's been cordoned off since the drill," Captain Pike replied softly. "It has supplies…"

Jim nodded and shakily helped Captain Pike from the bed into the wheelchair before tossing an empty duffel bag from the bedside table in his lap, "We can't go there because it's colder and your lungs will get worse," Captain Pike said softly as Jim loaded the bag with supplies. "It's right next to the ocean."

"I'll be fine," Jim said as he felt around the small house for things they could carry. "I need my Braille…"

Captain Pike sighed and wheeled around, helping Jim fill the bag with things including food, medical supplies, PADDs, and Jim's Braille collection. He then felt Jim covering him in a coat and blankets from the beds, "Where's your jacket, Jim?" Captain Pike asked calmly, knowing Jim was cold and scared.

"I've got it," Jim replied, feeling his way into his heavy burlap coat. "Let's get out of here."

The sky darkened as Jim pushed Captain Pike and the supplies out of the house and down the heavily damaged streets towards the Academy grounds. It was gradually getting colder and snow fell every day, as Nero's drill had damaged the planet's weather patterns to the point of a permanent winter.

It was relatively easy to get on to the Academy grounds, as the fence was very haphazard and nobody would bother them because survivors didn't want to get too close to the ocean and freeze to death when they could go to the warmer inland where there were actual resources. Jim had repeatedly suggested to Captain Pike that he cut his losses and go inland where he could get help because although he was in a wheelchair, he was able to see and be useful to what remained of society, but Pike had refused to leave him alone in San Francisco to die and had helped him through his impairment.

Because Jim was legally blind and couldn't remember the layout of the Academy due to Nero's torture, Captain Pike had verbally directed them to the dilapidated Medical building where there was ample food stored due to Dr. Puri's obsession with disaster preparation and ample medication for Jim. They had settled in one of the old surgical rooms and Jim had unloaded everything before taking a rest.

As Jim rested on a surgical bed, Captain Pike silently used his tools to access the small communications console to see if he could somehow send a message off-planet concerning their current situation.

* * *

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	5. Signs of Painful Living

_**Five Days Later**_

 _ **USS Enterprise**_

"Lieutenant Arianne Pike reporting for duty, sir," Arianne stated as she silently strode on to the Bridge in boots, pants, and a blue tunic that she had borrowed from Leonard's closet because she hadn't been able to get a proper uniform from the Quartermaster yet due to his shock about her pregnancy.

Spock rose and raised an eyebrow at her attire, "I had to steal it from Doctor McCoy's closet," Arianne admitted softly, ignoring the stares she was getting from everyone else. "Everyone's staring again…"

"Please sit and I will handle it," Spock replied tonelessly, well aware that rumors had been flying around the ship about Arianne's pregnancy and her fight with Leonard five days ago that had been stilled by Leonard temporarily moving into his office so that she would come talk to him when he was ready.

Arianne sat and watched as Spock silently walked around to the stations that Hawkins, Hendorff, Nurse Chapel, Hannity, and Hikaru were occupying, leaving quiet, but firm words with each officer before proceeding to the next, "I believe you will have no more trouble with rumors," Spock stated in a quiet voice as he returned to the command chair. "As for you and your troubles with Doctor McCoy…"

"He's upset because you found out first," Arianne replied softly. "And that I told Jim first."

Spock raised an eyebrow, "I do not see the appropriateness of blaming someone who is absent and thereby incapable of defending themselves," he replied tonelessly. "It is illogical that Doctor McCoy should place any blame on Lieutenant Kirk seeing as he never made it off of the Narada…"

Arianne shrugged, "Please oversee the Bridge," Spock said tonelessly. "I must go and speak…"

"Spock, don't," Arianne replied softly. "Leonard has a right to his feelings even if they are…"

Spock gave Arianne a look, "We are not related by blood, but I have always looked upon you as a younger sister," he spoke tonelessly. "I refuse to allow this behavior to continue any further."

"Alright," Arianne replied softly, sighing heavily as Spock silently went into the turbolift.

* * *

 _ **Sickbay**_

"…I am scared of vat ve vill find on ze Earth," Pavel said softly as he sat on the biobed, silently watching as his daily nutrition supplement was delivered to him via dripline. "I can see eet from my quarters and eet looks so brown and unhealthy. Ze scans ve deed earlier showed zat ze ecologeecal system vas damaged badly so zat eet does not respond to ze sun. Population pockets are in ze inland mostly…"

Leonard nodded, silently taking notes on what the bioreadings said, "I'm so vorried for ze people down zere," Pavel said in a concerned voice. "I do not know vat ve can do for zem vith vat ve hawe…"

There was a silence, "Doctor McCoy, I require a moment of your time," Spock spoke tonelessly.

"Just sit here and relax, Pavel," Leonard replied, scowling as he set the stylus down and followed Spock into the CMO office. "You know this is the time of day I counsel and take notes on Pavel."

Spock raised an eyebrow, "I believe Ensign Chekov meets with Lieutenant Pike in the evenings," he replied tonelessly. "I also believe that your reaction to her pregnancy is inappropriate."

Leonard swore, "I'm the father of that kid and she told Jim first!" he snapped angrily.

"Lieutenant Kirk has been missing for three months, five days, and could quite possible be deceased by now," Spock spoke tonelessly, hating the very possibility. "Captain Pike could also be…"

Again, Leonard swore and lunged at Spock, pinning him to the wall, "You green blooded hobgoblin, don't you think I know that?!" he snapped in an angry voice. "I've all but accepted that they're dead."

"As are millions of others," Spock replied tonelessly. "Our scans have detected a significant loss of life on the planet, mostly along the coastlines due to the fact that oceanic chemistry was irreversibly altered by the drill's attack. The temperature plummeted to extremely cold levels on the coastlines and…"

Leonard sighed, releasing Spock, "I know," he replied softly. "Any sign of Starfleet anywhere?"

"The sweep for Starfleet communications relays and other equipment has only just begun and it must be done slowly so not to cause panic," Spock replied tonelessly. "It will most likely take several days."

Leonard nodded, "I'm just trying to give her space," he replied softly. "I love her and I just…"

"If you profess to love her, you must show it," Spock replied calmly. "That is only logical."

Before Leonard could reply, the intercom whistled and Spock tapped the button, "Yes?" he asked.

"Scanners are picking up a signal from where Starfleet Academy was," a voice replied anxiously.

Spock frowned and Leonard's eyes widened, "Have Security meet me in the Transporter Room," he ordered tonelessly. "Inform them to bring a few survival packages the crew has assembled and that cold weather gear is expected. Doctor McCoy and I will also be beaming down to the source of the signal."

Donning cold weather gear and two emergency packs, Spock and Leonard quickly left the office, nearby barrelling into Pavel, who was carrying his dripline in his hand, "I am needed on ze Bridge," Pavel said.

"Yes, you are," Spock replied tonelessly. "Please go there and work as much as you are capable of."

* * *

 _ **Starfleet Academy Ruins – San Francisco, Earth**_

"Here's a Braille map of the campus I put together for you in case you want to go hunting for supplies," Captain Pike said as he handed the special map to Jim, who was sitting in an observation chair.

Jim nodded and slowly stood up, "Just do a little bit of the map each day," Captain Pike said calmly, watching as Jim donned his burlap coat in preparation to go outside. "It's a very detailed map."

"I've spent the last five days orienting myself with this building," Jim replied calmly. "I'll be okay."

Captain Pike nodded, "I don't think the Romulans are coming back anytime soon," Jim said in a concerned voice, his voice hoarse from coughing. "If they do, I put together a little plan."

"Don't go looking for trouble!" Captain Pike called out as Jim slowly left the Medical building.

The air was cold and Jim found himself coughing sporadically as he slowly used the map to navigate himself around the paths close to the Medical building using the cane he had found while exploring the building for supplies. His plan for an untimely Romulan arrival was to run as fast as he could with his back injury to draw them away from Captain Pike, as Captain Pike was still a capable officer.

Transporter sounds suddenly filled Jim's ears and he could only see blurs appearing nearby, "HEY!" a voice called out that Jim didn't recognize. "CAPTAIN, I SEE ONE OVER THERE!"

Swearing anxiously, Jim quickened his step and swept his cane along the ground as he put his plan into action. His back wouldn't allow him to run properly, but he could at least draw them away.

As Jim descended a grassy hill, however, his cane became caught in a hole and he found himself somersaulting down the hill into a heap on the ground. Noise filled his ears and Jim screamed as he felt hands touching him; it was all over for him and the Romulans would eventually find Captain Pike.

"Kirk?!" a voice asked in an anxious tone as a hand grabbed Jim's face. "Lieutenant Kirk?!"

Jim tried to move, but his back injury flared up and he tried to kick and hit the hands away, "Just shoot me and get it over with, you bloodthirsty Romulans!" he pled, unable to see more than blurs.

Anxious whispers filled the air and Jim finally managed to sit up and placed a hand on his back, "Just stay the heck away from Captain Pike and I'll do whatever you want," he said anxiously, figuring the Romulans were trying to decide what to do with him. "You can shoot me or whatever…"

"We're standing right in front of you, Kirk," a harsh voice snapped. "Can't you see we're not Romulan?"

Jim froze, "No, I can only see blurs," he replied in an anxious voice. "If you're not Romulans…"

"Where's Pike at?" another harsh voice spoke up anxiously. "Kirk, get up and show us."

Worried that he might get shot if he disobeyed, Jim started feeling around the grass for his Braille map because he had dropped it when he fell and didn't know where he was. He quickly found it and slowly stood up, ignoring the pain in his back as he silently felt around the map for the Medical building.

"Kirk, stop messing with that thing," a snappish voice said. "Where the heck is Captain Pike?"

Jim scoffed, "Excuse me if my inability to see interferes with your business," he hissed.

"Stand down," a toneless voice suddenly said. "Why are you all harassing this…?"

Spock, who had come over to the person with Leonard when he had seen Security give chase, suddenly froze as he eyed Jim and noticed the Braille map in one hand and the cane in the other, "Spock?" Jim asked, recognizing the voice from three months earlier. "I hear your voice, but where are you?"

"I do not understand," Spock replied tonelessly. "I am standing right in front of you."

Jim sighed, "Spock, I'm legally blind," he replied quietly. "It was a present from the Romulans."

Spock raised an eyebrow and silently took Jim's hand, "I am here," he spoke tonelessly.

Leonard frowned as he approached the two with his medkit in hand, "Captain Pike's at the Medical building," Jim said in a quiet, tired voice. "He could have gone inland, but he didn't want to leave me."

"I'm right here, Jim," Leonard said, gently touching Jim's shoulder. "Not much I can do down here."

Feeling shaky from cold and shock, Jim sank to his knees and Leonard joined him on the ground, helping him lie down on the grass, "Arianne will be happy to see you," Leonard said quietly as he pulled out his medical tricorder and did a scan. "Everyone will be happy to see you, actually. We thought you died."

"What good is a blind man on a starship?" Jim asked in a tired voice. "Do you have your phaser?"

Leonard frowned, "Why?" he asked in a confused voice. "We'll go to the ship in a few minutes."

"I'm a liability," Jim replied in a tired voice. "You could shoot me before they go find Pike and just tell him that I died from overexposure and injury. Pike's fit to be on a starship, but I'm certainly not."

Leonard silently pulled a hypospray out of his medkit and prepped it with a sedative, frowning when Jim reached for him, "I don't carry a phaser," he replied in a concerned voice. "Are you suicidal, Jim?"

"So what if I am?" Jim replied in an anxious voice, congestion in his lungs. "I should be dead already!"

Spock's eyes went wide, "Security has gone to retrieve Captain Pike," he spoke in a shaken tone.

"Do it quick, Spock, before Pike comes!" Jim whimpered, his back hurting. "Give me your phaser!"

Spock gave Jim a look, "He's suicidal, Spock," Leonard cut in anxiously. "Keep out of reach."

"Starfleet's dead, McCoy!" Jim howled as he shot to his feet and tried to feel for Spock.

Swallowing hard, Leonard swiftly injected the hypospray into Jim's neck, ignoring the foul words that came from Jim's mouth as the sedative took effect. Spock trembled as he helped Leonard lay the unconscious Jim on the grass, frowning when he noticed blood pooling in Jim's right ear.

"Doctor," Spock said, gesturing to Jim's right ear. "There is something in his right ear."

Leonard frowned and swore as a small slug, no bigger than a maggot, crawled out of Jim's right ear.

* * *

 ** _Please read and review!_**


	6. Seeing Reality

_**Two Days Later**_

 _ **Captain's Quarters - USS Enterprise**_

"I'm exhausted, but I'm alive and out of that cesspool," Captain Pike spoke shakily as he held a small PADD to his mouth to record a private log. "We're scanning California and the surrounding states for Starfleet, but it doesn't look promising. From what Spock tells me, a lot of the population fled inland when the drill hit…"

The door chime rang and Captain Pike sighed, saving the log, "Come," he said in a kind voice.

"I thought I'd bring you a little something, Daddy," Arianne spoke softly as she came into the room carrying a tray bearing a hot meal and a hot drink. "You need to keep your strength up."

Captain Pike sighed as Arianne set the tray in front of him, "Doctor McCoy tells me I'm going to be a grandfather in six months," he said in a kind voice. "I also heard you two are fighting about it."

"Spock put a stop to it," Arianne replied calmly. "We're sharing quarters again, but Leonard insists on sleeping on the couch. He's civil, but he's scared to touch me as if I have some sort of disease."

Before Captain Pike could reply, the computer beeped and he promptly answered it, revealing the pale face of Admiral Alexander Marcus, "Good Lord, Christopher, you look like crap," Admiral Marcus said in a worried voice, his eyes widening when he saw Arianne. "So you ARE safe, Lieutenant Pike!"

"Yes, sir," Arianne replied in a quiet voice, unsure of how to converse with Admiral Marcus.

Admiral Marcus, fortunately, sensed her reluctance to talk, "Christopher, are you quite done ignoring the pile of messages I sent you while you were in San Francisco?" he asked, eyeing Pike warily.

"Alex, you and I both know why I did," Admiral Pike replied softly. "I couldn't leave Kirk to die in that cesspool."

The mention of Kirk prompted Admiral Marcus to swear, "I thought you were kidding!" he shouted in an amazed voice. "You HAVE to come to Liberty Base and let the medics here try to help him somehow!"

"The Romulans did a number on Kirk," Captain Pike replied softly. "Besides, I'd have to talk to Spock."

Admiral Marcus scoffed, "I'll personally send Spock a message," he replied calmly. "Please come!"

The screen went black, "What is Admiral Marcus talking about?" Arianne asked quietly.

"Come join me for dinner and I'll explain," Captain Pike said, patting the empty chair beside him.

* * *

 _ **Sickbay**_

Bright blurs greeted Jim as he slowly opened his eyes, causing him to whimper because he wasn't used to such bright lights after three months of wintry sky. As he tried to call out for help, however, he felt a tube down his throat and heard soft wooshing sounds nearby, indicating he was on a ventilator.

"Doctor McCoy, Lieutenant Kirk's awake and setting off the monitors!" a voice called out.

There was a silence and Jim closed his eyes to block out the brightness, "I think it's a little too bright for him, Christine," he suddenly heard Leonard say calmly. "You can open your eyes again, Jim."

Jim opened his eyes and froze when he saw blurry black and white shapes, calming slightly when he felt a gentle hand on his cheek, "It's all right, Jim," Leonard spoke softly. "You're in Sickbay."

Leonard and Christine watched closely as Jim slowly flexed his fingers and felt around himself and the biobed for a PADD or something he could use to communicate, "You had a slug in your mind that rendered you unable to see, but I managed to get the thing out," Leonard explained in a concerned voice, realizing that Jim was trying to assess his situation. "I fixed the damage in your back and you're also reliant on chest tubes and antibiotics for your bacterial pneumonia. You've also got severe dehydration and malnutrition, but dripboxes are helping with those. You've been out for two days."

Jim touched the tube briefly and made a gagging sound, "Hang on," Leonard replied anxiously as he quickly disconnected the vent, frowning when Jim lurched upright and threw up the tube. "Ugh…"

Shaken from expelling the object from his throat, Jim instinctively put his hands over his eyes and started sobbing quietly, prompting Christine to take a step back from the bed. Leonard, however, had been warned by Captain Pike in advance that Jim would probably have emotional breakdowns or outbursts once he regained consciousness and silently put his arms around his injured friend.

"I'm…sorry, Bones," Jim whispered in an anxious voice as he let go. "I've been through a lot…"

Leonard nodded and Jim sighed tiredly, his hands feeling the scars on his neck and his chest because he knew that every part of his body had been put through indescribable torture during his short stay on the Narada, "When's the interrogation?" Jim finally asked in a quiet voice, his throat raw from vomiting.

Leonard and Christine exchanged a look, "I was held prisoner on a Romulan ship for goodness knows how long and I was tortured," Jim spoke hoarsely. "Starfleet, whatever's left, will want information…"

Jim sighed and reached up until he felt his forehead, coughing quietly as he massaged it, "Here, let me help you lie down so you can rest," Leonard said, recognizing that Jim felt terrible and wanted sleep.

Unable to see, Jim nodded and sighed as Leonard helped him lie down and placed a portable breather over his face as he drifted off, "What are we supposed to do with him?" Christine asked worriedly.

Leonard frowned, but awaited an explanation, "Once he's well enough to be out of here, are we supposed to send him back or to a facility?" Christine asked worriedly. "The ship's not equipped…"

"For a blind officer?" Leonard replied gruffly, giving Christine a look. "Are you kidding me?"

Christine silently followed Leonard out of the patient bay, "Kirk's commission isn't even active," she replied in a concerned voice. "Half the world's population is dead and whatever is left of Starfleet might not be much. We don't have time or resources to spend on catering to the needs of an invalid!"

Leonard swore and slammed his fist down on his desk, causing her to jump, "Just because Kirk wasn't your cup of tea at the Academy does not mean you have the right to judge him now!" he snapped, his voice raising. "The man survived torture at the hands of Romulans for gosh sakes and he's spent the last three months trying to survive in what's left of San Francisco trying to help Captain Pike survive…"

"Starfleet needs able-bodied men and women!" Christine shouted. "Kirk's blind and damaged!"

Leonard sighed, "You're relieved of duty, Chapel!" he replied emphatically. "Quarters! Now!"

Christine scowled, but left quietly and Leonard headed into the patient bay to make sure Jim didn't overhear the argument. What greeted him, however, was an empty bed and no sign of Jim. A Jeffries Tube was open and Leonard swore, quickly realizing that Jim had gone in there despite being blind.

"McCoy to Security, I have a problem," Leonard said worriedly as he tapped a nearby intercom.

* * *

 _ **Laboratory**_

Spock sighed as he carefully opened the first of the worn notebooks that contained information that Jim had kept track of during their marooning. The first several entries were neat and easy to read, but the writing became messier and Spock concluded that they were written as Jim slowly lost his sight.

There were no notes on the Romulans and Spock found it likely that Jim could either not remember what had happened or was unable to express it. Perhaps a mind meld would provide answers.

"Spock, come in," a voice spoke over the intercom. "Spock, Kirk's gone AWOL. Is he with you?"

Spock frowned and tapped the intercom, "Lieutenant Kirk is supposed to be in Sickbay," he replied tonelessly, wondering if Jim was even capable of finding his way around the ship unassisted.

"I don't know where he is!" Leonard's angry voice snapped. "Security can't find him either!"

Spock sighed, quietly secured the journals in storage for later analysis, and silently left the lab only to find a frustrated looking Hendorff in the corridor, "I trust the entire ship is aware?" he asked softly.

"McCoy said Chapel was shooting her mouth off about Kirk being incapable and Kirk must have escaped into the Jeffries tubes while they were arguing," Hendorff hissed. "Kirk's only visually impaired. That's not a big deal."

Spock gave Hendorff a look, "Captain Pike's furious and Arianne's trying to calm him down," Hendorff admitted, having alerted Captain Pike to it immediately. "He wants Chapel jettisoned in a pod."

"Humor is inappropriate in this situation, Mister Hendorff," Spock replied tonelessly. "I…"

Suddenly, Hendorff's communicator blipped, "What?" Hendorff snapped as he answered it.

"Ah, I dunnae if I should be sayin' anything, but I have Jim in mah office," Scotty replied, his tone concerned and uncertain. "He crawled out of a Jeffries' Tube and settled himself in a corner."

Faint sniffling sounds could be heard, prompting Hendorff to sigh, "I have relatives who are visually impaired for various reasons and I can get why Kirk's freaking out," he said in a quiet voice. "He obviously took Chapel's words seriously and thinks you're going to throw him off the Enterprise."

"I have no intention of doing that," Spock spoke tonelessly. "Visual impairments can be accommodated."

* * *

 ** _Engineering_**

Scotty sighed, his expression sympathetic as he draped a blanket over the corner cot where Jim lay asleep, exhausted from moving through Jeffries Tubes and crying. The dripboxes sat on a table close to the cot that Scotty had been using to hide snacks and moonshine that got him through tough days.

Since it was shift change, Scotty had been eating supper in his office with Keenser when the Jeffries' Tube panel in his office had popped off and Jim had fallen out on to the floor. Concerned for the recovering officer, Scotty had talked to him, given him a small amount of food, and had settled him in the nap cot in the corner so he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself wandering around Engineering.

As Jim gravitated between crying and falling asleep, Scotty had heard the ship-wide alert for Kirk and had reluctantly decided to inform Security of his whereabouts. Scotty sighed as he saw Spock stride into Engineering followed by an anxious looking Hendorff, who was pushing a simple wheelchair.

Keenser growled and stood in the doorway, unwilling to let them in, "Kirk's sound asleep and he's even got some food in him," Scotty spoke up in a worried voice. "Keenser, get out of the doorway!"

Grunting in protest, Keenser moved, "I have conversed with Captain Pike and there is no reason that Mister Kirk cannot continue his recovery in the Captain's quarters," Spock spoke as he entered. "He can remain there until the Medical staff at Liberty Base in New York City can have a better look at him."

"Yer gonna dump him in New York and shoot back intae space then?" Scotty snapped bitterly. "You…"

Spock gave Scotty a look, "I have no intention of dumping Lieutenant Kirk like a piece of irrelevant garbage, Mister Scott," he replied tonelessly. "Captain Pike has been in touch with Starfleet officers and has arranged for the Enterprise to dock at Liberty Base until such time as we figure out what to do."

"How in scotch's name did you arrange that?" Scotty replied in a stunned voice. "I thought Starfleet…"

Spock sighed and watched as Hendorff silently moved over to the bed where Jim slept, "Come on, Kirk, Pike's quarters are set up for you," Hendorff spoke quietly, sighing as Jim stirred. "Come on."

Jim trembled, but Hendorff was surprisingly gentle as he helped him into the chair, "I did not arrange this," Spock replied, watching Hendorff wheel Jim from Engineering. "It appears that Captain Pike has been in touch with Admiral Alexander Marcus of Starfleet for the past couple of months, but would not leave Mister Kirk alone in San Francisco to seek safety, as it meant leaving a heavily tortured Starfleet officer to die and that is against his personal beliefs."

Scotty's eyes widened in shock, "Aye, well, that's interesting," he replied. "Very interesting indeed."

* * *

 _ **Please read and review!**_


	7. The Safety of Liberty

_**24 Hours Later**_

 _ **New York City, New York**_

Swallowing hard, Jim clung to Arianne with one hand while the other used the came to sweep the ground for obstacles. The ship had landed in New York late last night, but everyone had decided to remain on board until morning because they too were unsure of what Starfleet presence was there.

Jim had been reluctant to leave the safety of Captain Pike's quarters, deathly scared that he would be taken away and institutionalized because he was blind. Several crew members had tried to talk to him, but in the end, Arianne had managed to talk Jim into at least coming off the ship and taking a brief walk around Central Park, which is where the Enterprise would undergo a massive refit and resupplying.

While Arianne and Jim walked around, shuttles from Liberty Base had begun arriving at the landing site filled to capacity with personnel and supplies meant for the space-weary officers to take advantage of before being sent for shore leave. Jim had heard the shuttles and he was now seated on a park bench, gravitating between crying and having a panic attack while Arianne sat next to him, simply holding him.

"I'm not going through anymore invasive procedures and if they lock me up, I'll either break out or die," Jim muttered in an anxious voice, unable to see more than light blurs. "I thought about trying to simply die on the Narada, but Nero simply laughed and said that it wouldn't be fun if I simply died…"

Arianne nodded, but remained quiet because Jim was opening up, "After Nero stabbed me, he dragged me into this creepy looking room and ordered Captain Pike to look at what had become of the great James Kirk," Jim spoke in a shaking voice. "I only got a glimpse of his face before I was taken away."

"I'm sorry, Jim," Arianne spoke softly, patting his back. "If I had seen you at all, I would have…"

Jim sighed, "I know," he replied softly. "Nero mentioned that he had met you briefly."

Footsteps suddenly approached, "So this is where you got to," Leonard's gruff voice spoke gently.

"I'm scared," Jim spoke before he could stop himself. "They're going to lock me up."

Leonard frowned, "Just so you know, Jim, I already reported Chapel and she's been taken to Liberty Base on a Security shuttle already," he replied calmly. "Captain Pike's talking with Admiral Marcus over near the ship and everyone's getting a shore leave because we've been trying to survive in space."

"You two should go," Jim said quietly, figuring Leonard was there to collect Arianne. "I'll be fine."

Leonard sighed, "Everyone's going to get quarters, food, clothes, and medical checkups at the base," he said quietly, frowning when Jim froze and shook his head. "What do you mean 'no?'

"I've already had enough invasive procedures to last me a lifetime," Jim replied nervously.

Quickly figuring out that the Romulans had administered painful torture to Jim that made him distrust the whole idea of a basic medical exam by strangers, Leonard sighed and instinctively felt Jim's forehead, "If you hypo me, I will snap your arm in two," Jim warned in an anxious voice.

"Really, Lieutenant Kirk, there's no need for violence," an unfamiliar voice suddenly said.

Leonard and Arianne looked up and were surprised to see Captain Pike sitting in his wheelchair while a kind looking man in an Admiral's uniform stood beside it, "Lieutenant Kirk, Lieutenant Pike, Doctor McCoy, this is Admiral Alexander Marcus, Commanding Officer of Liberty Base," Captain Pike stated.

Arianne and Leonard quickly shook Admiral Marcus's offered hand, but Jim remained silent and unmoving simply because he couldn't see the man's hand and didn't trust him, "Alex, you have to touch his hand to let him know you're there," Captain Pike spoke softly, understanding Jim's hesitation.

Admiral Marcus immediately looked confused, "He's legally blind and he can't tell the difference between you and a Romulan," Arianne snapped, troubled by what Jim had confided in her.

"Lieutenant Pike, your _tone_ ," Captain Pike said softly, figuring Jim must had started sharing.

Admiral Marcus, however, didn't look fazed and gently brushed his fingers against Jim's hand until Jim reluctantly shook it, "Here to escort me off to lockup?" Jim asked quietly. "I'm an invalid and…"

"Lieutenant Kirk, this is Starfleet and our base may only be a couple of months old, but it does have accommodations for people with visual impairments," Admiral Marcus replied gently. "My PADD is filled with messages from worried Enterprise officers who are all wondering whether or not you're okay."

Jim, however, didn't move because he was feeling worn out from the short walk and he was feeling congested again because of the change in air quality, "I'm a little tired," he spoke softly, coughing.

"Well, why don't you come with me and we'll get you checked out at the infirmary at Liberty Base and they can give you some medicine to help you?" Admiral Marcus spoke in a kind voice. "Medics!"

Too beat to argue, Jim allowed himself to be helped up off the bench and down the path, wincing as his knee bumped the edge of something. Using his hands, Jim felt the object and realized it was a soft gurney complete with a blanket and a pillow. A pair of strong arms helped him sit and lie down.

Feeling comfortable for the first time in three months, Jim nestled into the pillow and fell asleep.

* * *

 ** _Starfleet Liberty Base_**

For only being in existence two months, Liberty Base was well developed and Spock eyed the many buildings and shuttles quietly as he silently exited the shuttle that he had shared with his father, Nyota, Pavel, Hikaru, and Scotty. The other Vulcan elders had taken another shuttle and had been among the first to arrive at the base, as they had emotional needs that required intense private meditation.

Upon arrival in New York, Spock had quietly organized the crew into groups and had been unsurprised when Jim was resisting leaving the ship. He had simply turned the matter over to Arianne to handle, as she was close to Jim and they had an infinite level of trust that had survived the past three months.

"Spock, you look fatigued," Spock suddenly heard his father say. "Perhaps you should rest."

Spock sighed and gazed at his father, "I am Acting Captain and I have to keep track of the crew," he replied tonelessly. "I also have to attend debriefings concerning the last three months."

Scotty, who had been on his communicator the whole flight, let out a sigh of relief, "Thank heaven for wee miracles," he breathed in an anxious voice. "Admiral Marcus managed tae talk Lieutenant Kirk into a medical shuttle and they've taken him off tae the infirmary. Captain Pike, Doctor McCoy, and Lieutenant Pike went with them and Admiral Marcus wants tae talk tae ye in his office like right away."

"Nyota, please see my father receives rest and nourishment," Spock said tonelessly. "I must go."

As Spock walked off towards what he assumed was the main building, Pavel climbed out of the shuttle and his legs promptly gave out, but Scotty caught him, "Ye need to rest, lad," Scotty said gently.

* * *

 _ **Freedom Residence Hall**_

Arianne sighed heavily as she stared at herself in the mirror that was in the bathroom of the small set of quarters she had been assigned. She had been sent away from the infirmary with a pre-natal appointment for later that day after the staff finished with the other crew who were a higher priority.

Her uniform was dirty and she felt grimy, but the pregnancy nausea wasn't there simply because she had been eating and taking her vitamins on the Enterprise. Letting out a sigh, she silently removed her uniform shirt and gazed at the baby bump that was so obvious with just her tank top on. Nero had quickly identified her pregnancy and had given her medicine to protect it, admitting that he too had a wife and a son and it was the one thing that he held sacred and had lost so quickly and brutally.

What Nero had done next, however, was physically try to seduce her with a promise of a good life on Romulus for them and the baby. He had then imprisoned her in a simple set of quarters with the promise of a union when he returned from dealing with his other Starfleet prisoners. Terrified, Arianne had managed to break out and had tried to find a way out, but she had been caught by Ayel.

" _You need time to learn proper respect," Ayel hissed as he dragged a battered Arianne into the filthy evacuation room of the Narada and over to a filth encrusted escape pod, which he quickly opened._

 _Since her hands were bound, Arianne was powerless to stop Ayel from shoving her roughly into the pod and sealing her in with a lock of the door. She heard a hatch open and felt the pod being thrust outward._

No doubt Nero had beaten Ayel for his actions, as the Romulan had been very determined to claim her and the baby. The whole memory of Nero touching and nibbling her skin made Arianne feel faint.

Tears flowed and Arianne leaned against the vanity, unable to keep herself from sobbing about the violation of her personal space. Before Arianne could stop herself, she picked up the soap dish and hurled it at an empty wall in the large bathroom, causing it to shatter into a million pieces.

Trembling anxiously, Arianne left the bathroom and froze when she saw Leonard standing there, looking like a deer caught in headlights, "What are you doing in here?" she asked in a shaken voice.

"Checking on you," Leonard replied quietly. "I was taken off duty for a while and Jim's sleeping, so the doctors here are doing what they can for him. I was cleared and ordered to go get some rest and food."

Arianne sighed, "I thought you were keeping your distance," she replied in a trembling voice.

"Darlin', you don't sound good," Leonard replied as he walked over to her and gently stroked her face.

Leonard's gentle touch prompted Arianne to relax, "Come on, let's go to bed," he spoke softly.

Swallowing hard, Arianne allowed herself to be led to the small bedroom, "This is nicer than Nero's quarters was," she spoke, her eyes widening when she realized what she had just said. "Len…"

"Nero took you to his _quarters_?!" Leonard asked in a shocked voice. "Did he do anything?!"

Arianne shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed, "He started physically seducing me, but then he had to go deal with his other Starfleet prisoners," she spoke in a tired voice, her neck and back aching.

Leonard sighed and quietly removed his uniform shirt, tossing it on the floor before he joined Arianne on the bed, taking great care when he silently massaged her back, "Down you go," he whispered.

Arianne silently climbed into bed, sighing as she felt Leonard slide in beside her and gently stroke the back of her neck. Unable to resist temptation any longer, she slowly rolled over and kissed him.

* * *

 _ **Liberty Command Tower**_

"How bad's the paralysis, Chris?" Admiral Marcus asked in a concerned voice as he sat down at his desk across from a weary looking Captain Pike, who had been one of the first put through a medical exam and given a clean uniform. "I understand they gave you some medicine for it and tremors."

Captain Pike sighed tiredly, "I might lose the use of my legs permanently if the medicine doesn't work, but it could have been much worse," he replied softly. "When Kirk and I were shot to Earth in that pod, he was in a heck of a lot of pain, but he used the medicine in the first-aid kit to keep me comfortable."

"When did you first notice something might not be right with him?" Admiral Marcus asked.

Captain Pike frowned, "Around the second or third day we were there, Kirk said that there was a slug put in his mouth intended to destroy his brain and make him blind," he replied softly. "There was nobody around to help us, so Kirk simply decided to use analgesics to get through each day and one day, he couldn't see really well and didn't know what to do. He told me to go look for help and he would be all right on his own, but I honestly could not and would not leave him to fend for himself blind."

"The medicine here is really good, so maybe we can help Mister Kirk get partial sight back, but I am honestly not sure," Admiral Marcus replied. "We kind of resettled this city because it was far enough away from the Pacific and the damage is not as bad over here. Shuttles are able to cross this ocean and we managed to send a distress call towards the Laurentian System where the rest of the Fleet is, but we haven't heard anything back. You're the first ship to make an appearance here and it's a comfort."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Spock came into the room, "I apologize for my tardiness, but navigating this base is difficult," he replied tonelessly. "I understand you wished to see me?"

"Medical says you skipped your check-in appointment," Admiral Marcus said worriedly.

Spock sighed, "I am functioning adequately for now," he replied tonelessly. "I can be debriefed."

"Oh, that's not happening for a few days until there's a meeting with all able-bodied officers in Starfleet," Admiral Marcus replied quietly. "Everyone's busy seeing to the Enterprise and her officers, so you really ought to take some time and relax. I just wanted to see how you're doing in light of things."

Spock raised an eyebrow in confusion, "You lost your mother, your home planet, most of the people you knew, and you've been through three months of agony on that battered ship," Admiral Marcus continued in a worried voice. "You rescued some elderly Vulcan, Lieutenant Pike, and some assistant of Mister Scott's from Delta Vega and you also rescued Captain Pike and Lieutenant Kirk from…"

"The visit to San Francisco was very unsettling and the air was quite bad," Spock spoke tonelessly. "I am quite at a loss as to why Captain Pike and the able-bodied civilians did not help the less able escape."

Captain Pike looked stunned, "Spock, when Kirk started losing his sight, I honestly tried to find help in what was left of the civilians, but their only focus at the time was on finding food, water, and weapons to get out of there even if it meant killing weaker people and stealing their resources," he said in a concerned voice. "People were sympathetic enough to me because I was in a wheelchair and I managed to get supplies, but had I mentioned Jim's blindness, they would have shot him in the head."

"I do not understand," Spock replied tonelessly. "Mister Kirk is only visually impaired and it is not…"

Captain Pike sighed, "It's not a problem _here_ where there are resources, Spock, but when we got sent back to Earth and were trying to cope with Jim's seeing issues, people were in survival mode and did not care what they had to do to get out of the state," he replied quietly. "People who can't see are considered a liability to panicking civilians simply because they slow everyone else down with their need for help navigating through unfamiliar situations. I did my best to keep the attention off of Jim until mostly everyone had left and the ones who stayed left him alone to do his thing while they did theirs."

"That's _unbelievable_ ," Admiral Marcus commented, stunned by what Captain Pike had described.

Spock frowned, "That is very illogical behavior," he replied tonelessly. "How did you manage…?"

"Settled in a quiet corner of what was left of downtown with Lieutenant Kirk and managed to stretch the supplies out for a few weeks until I was sure most had gone," Captain Pike replied. "Jim does not know I saved him from being shot in the head and I'd really appreciate you not telling him."

Spock nodded, "Once the Enterprise people are done being examined by the doctors, we'll send them to quarters and they're not to come out for two days," Admiral Marcus said in a kind voice. "The quarters have communications relays that can request deliveries of food, water, and any other supplies."

"I'll be headed there myself once I finish talking with Admiral Marcus," Captain Pike spoke in a tired, but kind voice. "Your quarters are in the Freedom Building on the floors reserved for the Enterprise crew."

Understanding himself to be dismissed, Spock silently left the room and was unsurprised when a sentry greeted him and escorted him from the building and across the small Starfleet relief base.

* * *

 _ **Freedom Residence Hall**_

Scotty quietly threw his dirty uniform in a laundry bin and straightened the clean uniforms that the base provided before he strode out of the bathroom, taking great care not to wake Hikaru, Keenser, and Hawkins as they slept on various pieces of furniture in the suite they had been given to share with him and Pavel. Much to Scotty's concern, Pavel was awake and sitting in the window-seat, still wearing his grubbies from the Enterprise and ignoring the fact that they were all ordered to eat and sleep.

"Lad, ye aren't well," Scotty spoke softly, noticing that Pavel was trembling as he approached him.

Pavel sighed, "Ze Wulcans are here veeth us now and ze messages hawe stopped, but zey giwe me such looks of loazzing," he spoke in a shaky voice. "Zey vere in ze turboleeft ven I vas and I just felt pain."

"Pain, lad?" Scotty asked in a concerned voice, noticing that Pavel was holding his head. "Pavel…"

Pavel slowly got up off the window-seat, "At least one of ze Wulcans touched me in ze elewator and he said I needed to hawe ze pain I caused ze Ambassador by keeling Lady Amanda," he spoke shakily. "I hawe a headache and I feel wiolated, but ze cleenec eez owerloaded veeth people and I am tired."

"Ye gotta file a report tae Security, Pavel," Scotty replied softly. "And ye need to clean up."

Pavel nodded and started sobbing quietly, prompting Scotty to hug him, "Come on, we'll go down tae Security while everyone is asleep," Scotty said kindly. "I know where it is and they seem nice enough."

"Da," Pavel replied shakily, trembling as he left the quarters with Scotty and went over to the turbolift.

The turbolift doors suddenly opened and Spock came out, "Why are you not in your assigned quarters?" he asked tonelessly, noting that Pavel was cringing and in tears. "Do you need medical assistance?"

"I…I do not know," Pavel replied shakily. "Zees Wulcan named Stonn touched me in ze elewator on my forehead and said I needed to feel ze pain I caused ze Ambassador by keeling hees vife. My head hurts."

Spock frowned, "Stonn initiated a mind meld on you in the elevator without your consent?" he asked.

"Ze ozzer Wulcans were all een deep sot and zey deed not see," Pavel spoke shakily. "I'm _sorry_."

Spock gave Pavel a concerned expression, "I will accompany you to Security," he replied softly.

* * *

 _ **Liberty Base Justice Center**_

Hendorff sighed heavily as he stood behind the desk where his mother, Commander Angelina Hendorff, sat, silently listening to Pavel explain the assault and how he was feeling because of it, "Ensign Chekov, let me personally apologize for what has happened to you," she said in a quiet voice. "I have only been the Chief of Security at Liberty Base since it opened, but I do not tolerate assault under any…"

The door slid open and Spock, who had gone to fetch his father after leaving Pavel and Scotty at the Security office, came in with Ambassador Sarek at his heels, "Stonn has disappeared and is not answering communications," Ambassador Sarek explained tonelessly. "What has happened here?"

"Your aide, Stonn, has violated Ensign Chekov's mind," Spock spoke in a dark, upset tone.

Ambassador Sarek looked concerned, "Eet eez not ze first time," Pavel spoke softly, his voice tired.

Spock scowled and suddenly looked angry, "Son, get Ensign Chekov a tissue," Commander Hendorff spoke gently as she sat in her seat, her head tilted in Pavel's direction. "How many times, Ensign?"

Hendorff quickly retrieved a tissue for Pavel from a box on the desk, "Seence ze Narada damaged ze Earth," Pavel spoke shakily. "Stonn caught me een my quarters and has been doing zat ewery night seence zen and I could not owerride ze code because zen it vould breeng attention to eet…"

"Three months' worth of melds has most likely done considerable damage," Ambassador Sarek mused.

Pavel nodded and whimpered as the headache intensified, "I will put the entire base on alert for Stonn," Commander Hendorff replied in a concerned voice. "Computer, initiate a Security Alert for a Vulcan named Stonn and pull the data on Stonn from the inhabitant registry for identification purposes."

The computer beeped, indicating it was processing the command, "Ambassador Sarek, when a Vulcan physician becomes available and well enough to be of help, I would like Ensign Chekov's condition assessed properly," Commander Hendorff said calmly as she slowly stood up. "Son, could you?"

Hendorff nodded and helped his mother navigate around the desk, "You are visually impaired?" Spock asked in a toneless voice, surprised at her position. "I ask this because of what I have observed."

"Yes," Commander Hendorff replied calmly. "Come with me, Ensign. I will personally escort you to the infirmary and I'll see what the Medical staff can give you for pain. I'm very sorry this happened."

As the group left the office, Spock found himself wondering how Jim would cope with blindness now.

* * *

 _ **Please read and review!**_


	8. Conflict Among Survivors

_**Two Days Later**_

 _ **Liberty Base Medical Center/Culinary Atrium**_

Blurry colors greeted Jim as he opened his eyes, felt around him, and realized that he was in a hospital bed that was comfortable and warm, "It's good to see you awake, Lieutenant Kirk," he heard a voice say.

"Bones?" Jim responded, moving his head in the direction of the voice. "I can see blurry colors."

Leonard looked impressed, "You've been undergoing brain therapy while you've been asleep because that slug did some damage," he replied calmly, touching Jim's face. "I'm right next to the bed."

"I remember falling asleep in that park," Jim mused groggily. "How did I get in a hospital bed?"

Leonard sighed and checked the bio-readings above the bed, "The doctors simply decided to let you sleep and did what they could for you," he replied quietly. "The pneumonia's going away, but you're still on antibiotics and you've got a bit of permanent back damage, but it won't limit your walking. You're also on nutri-therapy and fluids, but the hospital wants you to try eating to gain some weight."

"When am I getting kicked out to the street?" Jim asked tiredly. "I don't think I'll regain full vision."

Leonard scoffed, "You're going to be a dad and I bet they'll keep you busy in this place," Jim said in a tired voice, trying to slowly sit up. "I can figure out how to live on the streets out here just fine."

"James Tiberius Kirk, if you keep it up, I'm going to put my boot up your butt," a stern voice spoke.

Jim's eyes widened as he felt a gentle pair of arms around him, "You'd beat up a blind man?" he asked in a shocked voice, recognizing Arianne's voice and gentle touch. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm pregnant, James, not helpless," Arianne replied as she sat on the edge of the bed. "And you?"

Jim frowned in confusion, "And me what?" he asked in a confused voice. "I see blurry colors now."

Arianne nodded and sighed, "Jim, I shouldn't even be telling you this, but I've seen Sam around the base," she spoke softly, having done some research from her quarters. "He's a civilian physician here."

Leonard frowned and Jim nodded, deeply shaken by the mention of his brother, "He doesn't know you're here and I'm not telling him," Arianne spoke softly. "He thinks you're still missing."

Jim nodded, suddenly feeling tired, "Can I get up to eat or do I need to stay in bed?" he asked softly.

"You can go to the hospital atrium to eat if you're in a wheelchair," Leonard replied firmly. "I don't want you hacking up your lungs up or banging into walls because you don't know the layout here."

Jim sighed, "All right," he acquiesced softly. "Can someone get my cane so I can get up?"

"I can help you," Arianne said softly as Leonard grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and brought it over to the bed. "I'll also talk to someone about getting you a better cane."

Jim silently allowed Arianne to help him into the chair, "All of the Enterprise crew have been sequestered for 48 hours because Admiral Marcus wanted to give everyone time to decompress," Leonard explained as he pushed Jim from the room and down the corridor. "It was needed."

"Okay, so did you two go back to sharing a bed then?" Jim asked quietly. "You seem a lot calmer."

Arianne chuckled and Leonard simply rolled his eyes, sighing as they entered the large atrium that doubled as a cafeteria for the entire base, "I…I don't know if I can eat, Bones," Jim said softly.

"How about a smoothie?" Leonard suggested quietly. "You have to get _something_ into you."

Jim sighed, his calmness slipping away as he suddenly found himself wondering about Leonard's mom, "Bones, did your mom survive what happened?" he asked in a worried voice. "Lots of people died."

"If I had an answer to that, I'd give it," Leonard replied as he went over to the food vendors.

Jim frowned and felt himself gagging, "Swallow," Arianne said worriedly. "Don't get sick."

"Where's Pike?" Jim asked softly. "I can't see well and I don't know where anyone is!"

Leonard turned at hearing Jim's voice raise, but Arianne motioned for him to keep doing what he was doing, "You're right to be frustrated," Arianne spoke softly. "You've gone through quite a bit."

A thought crossed Jim's mind as he processed Arianne's tone of voice, "You're hiding something from me and from everyone," he spoke in a concerned voice. "Your tone of voice tells me that."

"Jim, you're right," Arianne replied softly. "I had my own personal encounter with Nero."

Jim's eyes widened and he felt sick, "I've been avoiding being debriefed," Arianne admitted.

Tears fell from Jim's eyes and he reached up to cover them while Arianne watched him cry.

* * *

 _ **Starfleet Liberty Base Vulcan Compound**_

"I believe you were asked to come to the compound with someone," Spock said in a toneless voice as he came into the front room and saw Pavel standing there alone, looking very nervous. "The healing…"

Pavel shrugged, "Eweryone eez steel tired and zey are sleeping," he replied softly. "I am een pain."

Spock sighed and gestured for Pavel to follow him into the next room where Ambassador Sarek and an female Vulcan Healer waited, "I will be assisting Ensign Chekov," he spoke tonelessly, producing a medical tricorder from his pocket that he had borrowed from the hospital. "I am prepared sufficiently."

"Ensign Chekov, this is Doctor T'Pan and she will be conducting the series of melds that will hopefully undo the damage Stonn inflicted upon you," Ambassador Sarek stated tonelessly. "Please sit."

Pavel nodded and slowly sat on the soft mat, "Spock will monitor your vital signs through the process and I will cease the meld if you become ill," Dr. T'Pan explained softly. "I will now touch you."

Dr. T'Pan gently placed her hands on Pavel's face, prompting him to close his eyes to relax.

 _Sobbing filled the air as Pavel silently entered his quarters, having just learned that Jim and Captain Pike were gone on the departed Narada and that Arianne was also gone. Earth was severely damaged and Spock had ordered the Enterprise to retreat far enough away to avoid damage from the drill. Pavel badly needed rest before he helped the crew pull together. However, he got the feeling he wasn't alone._

" _Ensign Pavel Andreivich Chekov of Starfleet," a dark voice spoke from the shadows. "The KILLER!"_

 _Pavel gasped as Stonn, who was still bloodied and bruised from his evacuation from Vulcan, moved out of the shadows and pushed him against the wall, "You are the one who could not save Ambassador Sarek's wife and he is now compromised over it," Stonn hissed as he touched Pavel's pale face._

" _You deserve every bit of pain the Vulcans now carry!" Stonn hissed, increasing his grip intensely._

"…Doctor T'Pan, you must cease the meld immediately!" Spock said in an anxious voice.

Without warning, Pavel fell backwards on to the soft mat and vomited before convulsing violently for nearly a full minute. Spock silently moved Pavel away from the vomit into a pile of cushions that the elders used for meditating, "Ensign Chekov," Spock spoke softly. "Ensign Chekov, can you hear me?"

Pavel's breathing slowed, but he didn't open his eyes, "Yes," he whispered in a pained tone.

"I may have to resort to medicinal treatment because his tolerance for mind meld therapy is relatively non-existent," Dr. T'Pan spoke tonelessly. "I must file a report with Liberty Base Security and Medical."

Spock silently retrieved a heating blanket from the supply closet, covered Pavel with it, and activated it so he could rest comfortably, "I am going to call the hospital and ask them to send a Starfleet physician here to assist," Ambassador Sarek spoke quietly. "I had no idea it would trigger such a reaction."

As Ambassador Sarek left, Spock sat next to Pavel, determined to keep watch over him.

* * *

 ** _Liberty Base Medical Center/Culinary Atrium_**

Arianne sighed and gently nudged Jim's arm, as Jim was drifting off while in the process of drinking his breakfast smoothie, "Sorry," Jim spoke, feeling the gentle nudge. "I'm feeling really relaxed."

"That's good," Leonard, who was in the process of eating three eggs, two pieces of toast, two slices of bacon, hashbrowns, and a coffee, said as he ate his breakfast. "It means the smoothie's working."

Arianne scoffed, "Len, don't talk with your mouth full," she replied gently as she ate her breakfast of eggs, yogurt, toast, and sausages and took occasional drinks of cranberry juice. "It's impolite."

"What time is it?" Jim asked in a groggy voice, unnerved by the quiet. "It's so quiet here."

Leonard looked at the chronometer above the food vendor, "It's 06:30, so most of the base is probably still asleep and will start filtering in for breakfast in about an hour or so," he replied calmly. "There's not really a set schedule here, but they're working on setting up an Academy and other things to do."

The sound of footsteps echoed across the floor and Jim ignored it, as he wanted to finish his smoothie and then see if he could get his Braille books from Captain Pike, "…Good morning, Doctor Kirk," the gentle voice of one of the food vendors suddenly said. "I take it you'll want your usual?"

Jim froze and Leonard gazed over at the vendor, shocked when he saw Sam standing at the counter wearing faded scrubs and a white coat with a mournful expression on his face, "Bones?" Jim whispered.

"It's him," Leonard replied quietly, prompting Arianne to stop eating and rub Jim's back. " _Wow_."

Jim turned his head in the direction he had heard the voice, "Sam?" he called out in a tired voice.

Sam turned and froze at the sight of Jim looking at him, "James?" he asked quietly, unable to believe what he was seeing as he walked towards the table and saw that Jim was dressed in hospital pajamas with several driplines in his arms that were attached to boxes hanging from the top of the chair.

"Bones, where is he at?" Jim asked, sensing that Sam was nearby, but unable to see where.

Leonard watched as Jim reached up and managed to find Sam's hand, bewildering Sam, "Doctor Kirk, Jim lost a lot of his sight being tortured with a Romulan slug," Arianne spoke in a quiet voice.

Sam's eyes widened and he promptly knelt close to the chair, allowing Jim to touch his face and ears, "It's _you_ ," Jim said in a shocked voice. "Arianne mentioned this morning that you were around…"

Overwhelmed by the situation, Jim started crying softly, prompting Sam to grab an empty chair and move it close enough that he could hug Jim, "It's okay, little brother," Sam said softly. "Shh…"

Leonard's medical pager suddenly beeped, "I have to go check this," he said, getting up.

"James was only on the Narada for a short time, Sam," Arianne spoke softly, figuring she had better fill in a few blanks. "He's spent the last nearly three months caring for my father in San Francisco."

Sam nodded and wiped Jim's face with a clean napkin, "They only found me like four days ago," Jim spoke softly. "I was on the ship for two and I've been sleeping here for two. I feel like crap, but I have to talk to Starfleet eventually. Captain Pike can only tell them so much and he didn't see _all_ of it…"

"I met Admiral Marcus when I first got here on the refugee bus with Aurelan," Sam replied in a calm voice. "He seems pretty nice, but I'm not letting you go talk to him about all this by yourself."

Jim nodded and Sam fluffed his hair, "You need a bath," Sam spoke gently. "Do you want one in one of the therapy tubs this hospital has? I can help you scrub and get this hair of yours washed."

"I can go talk to Admiral Marcus for you and see if he can't come over here to talk to you," Arianne offered, feeling like Sam and Jim were eager to spend time together. "Spend time with Sam."

Jim nodded and Arianne quickly finished off her breakfast, "I'll comm you later on," she said, knowing that familiarity was important to Jim. "Just remember that Sam's your brother and he loves you."

* * *

 ** _Liberty Base Command Center_**

Captain Pike sighed heavily, relieved that he had been given a workstation so that he could log his experiences into the database for Starfleet's benefit. He didn't enjoy writing his experiences aboard the Narada, nor did he enjoy writing about his time in San Francisco, but he knew the knowledge would prove valuable information about the conditions of the area, the people, and the living situation.

Most of the Enterprise crew had kept to their quarters over the last two days and Captain Pike understood, as the last three months had obviously been very stressful. He had done his mandatory 48 hours and then had come over to the Command Center to see how he could help this growing Starfleet base get a better foothold in this corner of the world. Admiral Marcus had been grateful for the extra help, as most of the other senior staff were busy trying to draw personnel to New York from overseas.

Now, as Captain Pike worked, Spock suddenly came out of the turbolift in binders on to the floor with an annoyed looking Security officer, "Spock?" Captain Pike asked in a confused voice. "What's wrong?"

"I was at the Vulcan compound and I was suddenly forced to come here by Security," Spock replied, unwilling to share that Pavel was undergoing meld therapy and had suffered a reaction.

Captain Pike frowned and looked at the Security officer questioningly, "Commander Hendorff has questions for Captain Spock regarding his logs," the Security officer replied. "I had to escort him here from the base to make sure he wouldn't try to escape off base like that other crazy Vulcan did."

"In handcuffs?!" Captain Pike snapped angrily. "Did Captain Spock resist any of your commands?!"

Spock looked at the floor, "McCoy was there helping Chekov with a medical issue and Spock consented to come after he made sure Chekov was all right, so I thought he was planning to bolt," the Security officer replied in a tight voice. "I forced him to the floor and cuffed him so he wouldn't run."

Captain Pike swore, "You do realize that this _crazy_ Vulcan is the son of Ambassador Sarek, right?!" he snapped as a door opened and Hendorff came out of an office. "Just because there's an alert out for Stonn does not give you leeway to physically restrain and assault every Vulcan on this campus!"

"He's been spending his mandatory time outside of his assigned quarters with another Starfleet officer, sir!" the Security officer replied anxiously. "All Enterprise officers were given very strict orders!"

Spock sighed, "I was spending time with Lieutenant Uhura in her quarters seeking _relief_ ," he replied tonelessly, in pain from being forcibly detained. "I am also permitted to visit the Vulcan compound."

Captain Pike watched as Hendorff moved back inside the office and heard frantic whispers, "ROYCE!" an angry voice suddenly boomed out of the office. "UNCUFF CAPTAIN SPOCK AND GET IN HERE NOW!"

Security Officer Royce roughly released Spock from the bindings and marched into the office, ignoring the fact that Spock was on the verge of fainting, "Spock?" Captain Pike asked worriedly. "Spock!"

Alerted by the shouting, Hendorff hurried out of the office as Spock sank to his knees, "I am telepathically overstimulated from the experience of being arrested," Spock spoke shakily. "I…"

Angry swearing filled the room and Hendorff quickly pulled the door shut, watching as Spock managed to crawl over to the waiting couch and pull himself on to it before sinking into the leather with a hand pressed to his forehead, "Admiral Marcus isn't even in yet," Hendorff said anxiously. "Should I…?"

"Negative," Spock replied tonelessly. "I will simply deal with it as I have dealt with past trauma."

Captain Pike looked at Hendorff's concerned expression, "I don't know if you're physically strong enough for a boxing match, sir," Hendorff spoke worriedly. "I can see if someone's awake."

"What are you talking about?" Captain Pike asked in a concerned voice. "Boxing match?"

Spock closed his eyes, "Spock's been handling stress by ordering various crew to fight with him and he just sort of allows them to physically exhaust him til he passes out," Hendorff admitted quietly. "McCoy ordered him to quit several times, but being in space with nowhere to go has been stressful."

"That's self-harming behavior," Captain Pike replied quietly. "What did the doctors here…?"

Spock's expression hardened slightly, "You haven't seen them?" Captain Pike asked softly.

"We spent the previous three months dodging detection from the Narada," Spock croaked.

Captain Pike scowled, "I'm cancelling your meeting with Admiral Marcus and I'm ordering you to go to Medical right now," he replied firmly, frowning as Spock didn't respond or appear to be breathing.

Hendorff cursed and quickly checked Spock's pulse and breathing before whipping out his base-issued communicator, "This is Enterprise Security Officer Hendorff requesting medical assistance at the command center for Captain Spock," he said in an anxious voice. "He's unconscious and unresponsive."

* * *

 _ **Liberty Base Medical Center/Culinary Atrium**_

Anxiety filled Nyota as she followed Scotty and Hikaru into the family waiting area, having been commed by Hendorff about Spock being forcibly arrested and passing out. To her surprise, Jim was seated in one of the chairs with one hand on a dripline pole and the other in the hand of a guy who resembled him.

"…I'll take a bath when I know how Spock is," Jim was saying in a tired voice. "He rescued me and Pike."

Sam sighed and patted Jim's arm, "I've been with him for the last two days and tried to get him to come get checked out, but he hasn't," Nyota commented as she walked over to Jim and touched his hand.

"I think I'll go check on Chekov while we're waiting," Scotty said in a tired voice. "He's…"

Jim frowned, "Scotty, what?" he asked, his anxiety rising. "What happened to Pavel?"

Scotty cringed, as he had just noticed that Jim was in the room, "Ah," he said anxiously.

"Don't keep me out of the loop because I can't see," Jim snapped, deeply frustrated because he could sense everyone's hesitation to include him in anything. "You know what? Forget I even asked."

Scotty blanched like he'd been slapped as Jim slowly got to his feet, "I was Captain of the Enterprise until I was lost on Nero's ship and then I became nothing!" Jim snapped. "Nero saw the Enterprise leave and he told me that I was being left to die along with Earth and the rest of Starfleet that day!"

Hikaru paled, "We were ordered to leave!" he replied anxiously. "It's not like we had a…!"

"Everyone has a choice, Sulu," Jim snapped. "I _chose_ to save you on that drill or did you forget?!"

Nyota sighed and Jim scoffed, "I've been treated like glass ever since I was taken from San Francisco!" he shouted. "The only ones bothering to treat me normal aren't even in the room right now!"

There was an uneasy silence as footsteps entered the room, "Honestly, Uhura, you've hated me since the first day we met," Jim snapped, tears in his eyes. "And now you and Chapel have probably been having a laugh and a scoff behind my back about how a blind man isn't a fit Starfleet officer!"

"What's going on here?" an unfamiliar female voice suddenly asked. "Doctor Kirk?"

Sam sighed at the female doctor who had come to the waiting room because she had probably heard Jim's yelling, "It's alright, Doctor Marcus," he spoke softly. "Come on, Jim. It's going to be okay."

Carol nodded and kept quiet as Sam helped Jim leave the waiting room, "Ah had him sit in the corner cot so he wouldn't get hurt!" Scotty exclaimed in a shocked voice. "I dinnae mean to make him…"

"Um," Carol spoke softly. "If you're here about Captain Spock or Ensign Chekov, they'll be fine."

Nyota nodded, "Can I visit with Spock?" she asked in a worried voice. "I'm sure he would like it."

"Ambassador Sarek is in with Spock right now," Carol said firmly, her voice firm. "I really don't think it's a good idea for you to visit with him. Doctor McCoy's in with Ensign Chekov and has banned visitors."

Nyota frowned, "I'm aware of disparaging statements you made to Christine Chapel concerning Lieutenant Kirk's abilities," Carol said in a stern voice. "I think you had better go back to your assigned quarters before I decide to ask Security to escort you out. This is supposed to be a safe environment."

Swearing, Nyota stormed away, "I think you should all remember that you are merely visitors at this base and unruly behavior can get you asked to leave," Carol spoke in a softer voice. "My father doesn't like asking people to leave, but he will if you prove to be too troublesome to the base's safety."

Just then, Leonard came out looking tired, "I thought I heard Jim yelling," he spoke worriedly.

"Some things were said and Kirk's really upset," Hikaru said in an ashamed voice.

Leonard swore and rolled his eyes, "He finally blew up at y'all for treating him like a china doll, did he?" he asked in a grumpy voice. "Most people in the crew haven't visited him in the two days he's been here except for me, Arianne, and Captain Pike. Admiral Marcus is busy, but he found time to stop by."

"Nobody's visited him?" Hikaru asked in a surprised voice. "I would have thought that…"

Carol sighed and Leonard scowled, "Just get out of here and go do something productive," Leonard growled as he left the room, figuring Sam had taken Jim to have a bath and get clean clothes.

* * *

 ** _Freedom Residence Hall_**

"Just try and sleep," Captain Pike spoke softly as he tucked Jim, who had been brought over to his massive accommodations by Sam after having a bath and being given clean clothes. "I'll be having a meeting in the boardroom that this suite has, but I'll keep people from bothering you, okay?"

Heavily exhausted from the journey that took him from the hospital to the apartments, Jim nodded and sighed as Captain Pike's hand gently stroked his face, "If you get bored, I left your Braille books near your other hand and you can read them, but try not to get up," Captain Pike spoke quietly.

"I'm guessing Admiral Marcus isn't happy," Jim mused in a tired voice. "I tried so hard…"

Captain Pike sighed, "He's not upset with you or me," he replied softly. "Go to sleep."

Jim nodded and Captain Pike silently rolled himself out of the bedroom, being sure to leave the door open a crack. It was close to suppertime, but he didn't seem to have any sort of appetite. The boardroom was open, lit up, and Admiral Marcus was there, silently sitting at the head of the table.

"Spock's not attending the meeting, as he is still in hospital," Admiral Marcus said calmly. "Mister Chekov's all right, but he just wants to rest. The other 'senior staff' should be here anytime now."

Captain Pike sighed, wheeling over to his spot at the table, "I took the liberty of looking up Kirk's file and referencing it to the Enterprise logs," Admiral Marcus said, offering him a stylus. "Spock relieved himself of command due to emotional compromise and he only took command back since Kirk never returned to the ship, but he was still emotionally compromised. According to the Enterprise computers, Spock never deactivated Kirk's position as Captain and spoke in his logs about how he regretted running."

"I've read those logs," Captain Pike replied. "Spock's been a ball of stress for three months."

Just then, Commander Hendorff came into the room being guided by a tired looking Hendorff, "Son, you didn't have to insist on coming," Commander Hendorff said gently. "You've been busy all day."

"I wanted to, Mom," Hendorff replied softly, helping her sit. "I'll get some rest later."

Captain Pike looked surprised, "I had no idea you were visually impaired, Commander Hendorff," he commented in a kind voice. "I've been doing debriefings with you and it was never brought up."

"I have been for a while, Christopher," Commander Hendorff replied calmly. "After I got married, I had a son and his father didn't think I should have the right to raise a kid being blind and all, so my ex tried to sue for custody and I ended up being offered a position with Starfleet and managed to get custody."

Hendorff sighed as he lingered against the wall, watching as Scotty, Sam, Hikaru, Hawkins, Hannity, and a few other personnel came in and took seats. Captain Pike frowned when he saw Leonard come in followed by Arianne, who was helping Pavel walk, "Pavel, you should be in bed," Captain Pike said softly.

"I heard vat vas happeneeng and Spock asked me to find out eenformation after I called heem," Pavel spoke in a shaky voice as he took a seat near the door. "Spock eez not vell enough to be out of bed."

Arianne nodded and sat next to Pavel, "Where's Lieutenant Uhura?" Admiral Marcus asked.

"She's not coming," Hawkins said softly. "I'm representing Enterprise Communications."

Pavel yawned, "Can…can I apologize to Quirk?" he asked softly. "I sent heem emails…"

"Jim's resting, but you can go see him," Captain Pike replied quietly. "Doctor McCoy, go with him."

Leonard nodded, helped Pavel up, and kept a hold of him as they went into the guest room where Captain Pike had put Jim to rest after his outburst. Jim was awake and silently reading one of his Braille books using his IV laden hand while staring at the ceiling, "Vat are you reading, sir?" Pavel asked softly.

Jim stopped and looked in the direction of the voice, "Intermediate Braille that I got back in San Francisco right before the Enterprise came," he replied quietly. "I grabbed em and ran out before the owner of the store blew the building up cause people were threatening him with weapons and stuff."

Leonard's eyes widened, "Pike was freaked out when I woke him and told him, but he suggested we go to the Academy where those crazy civilians wouldn't bother us," Jim said quietly. "It was really cold there, but that's why people stayed away."

"I seenk zere eez a library on ze base," Pavel replied gently. "I believe zey have Braille books zere."

Jim nodded, "Has Marcus started yelling yet?" he asked tiredly. "Pike told me what's going on."

"He eez not happy about how ze Enterprise crew eez not togezzer," Pavel replied quietly. "He eez not happy zat you deed not hawe a lot of veesetors and zat you are not being giwen any respect. Ze meeting eez to deescuss ze need for respect."

Suddenly feeling tired, Jim closed his eyes and yawned, "Sorry," he whispered softly. "I'm super tired right now."

"Eet eez okay, so am I," Pavel replied softly. "Go to sleep and I vill maybe come back and veeset tomorrow?"

Jim nodded as he closed his eyes, "I'll bring you some supper after the meeting, okay?" Leonard said gently.

A loud snore emanated from Jim's tired lips as Leonard led Pavel out of the guest room.

* * *

 ** _Please read and review!_**


	9. Darkness From Within

_**Five Days Later  
**_

 _ **Freedom Residence Hall**_

The room was quiet and Arianne sighed softly as she opened her eyes, smiling when she saw Leonard sound asleep in bed next to her with an arm around her, "Len, I have to get up and have some tea," she spoke softly, gently kissing his nose. "You don't have to work at the hospital til later. Just sleep."

Leonard grunted, but didn't wake or stir because he was hopelessly exhausted from doing what he could for the base hospital and helping Jim find a niche. Arianne gently smoothed his sleep tank top down, covered him up, and got out of the bed that they had been sharing since their arrival at the base.

Quickly putting on a hoodie over the sweats and t-shirt she had worn to bed, Arianne moved out into the small common area and quickly replicated some Vulcan spice tea because she had always loved the tea and it hadn't changed with pregnancy. As she drank it, the door chime suddenly rang.

Not wanting Leonard to wake up, Arianne moved to the door and opened it with the press of the unlock button. She was surprised to see Admiral Marcus and two MP's at the door, all of them solemn.

"Lieutenant Pike, is Doctor McCoy in?" Admiral Marcus asked kindly. "I need to talk to him."

Arianne frowned, "We're not under arrest for sharing quarters, are we?" she asked softly.

"No, I don't care who shares quarters on my base as long as it's completely consensual and your sharing quarters has helped you both immensely," Admiral Marcus replied softly. "It's something else."

Nodding, Arianne silently moved back into the bedroom, "Len, Admiral Marcus and two MP's are here to see you," she said in a concerned voice. "You and Jim haven't done anything illegal have you?"

Leonard groaned and sat up, grumbling groggily as he crawled out of bed, put a hoodie on over his sleep tank top, and came out into the common area, grateful he had sweats on to keep him warm, "Yeah?" he asked groggily, feeling unsettled as he saw Marcus and the MP's. "It's way too early in the morning."

"My apologies for that, but it concerns the request with Starfleet you filed upon your arrival at Liberty Base concerning your mother, Eleanora McCoy," Admiral Marcus spoke quietly. "Can we sit down?"

Leonard's mouth went dry and he felt nauseous, "What is it?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"I regret to inform you that your mother, Eleanora McCoy, is dead," Admiral Marcus spoke softly.

Arianne swore and Leonard felt his legs give out as his stomach lurched, prompting him to lose the remnants of last night's dinner all over the floor as he passed out and hit the floor hard.

* * *

 ** _Liberty Base Medical Center/ Culinary Atrium_**

"You're looking better, Spock," Captain Pike commented as Spock, who was wearing hospital pajamas and holding on to a dripline pole for support, came over to the table where he and Jim, who was now in a uniform and awaiting assignment, were sitting having breakfast. "Have you been behaving?"

Spock raised an eyebrow and took a seat at the table, "I have been allowed light work provided I remain in bed," he replied tonelessly as he silently touched Jim's hand. "How are you feeling, Jim?"

Jim relaxed at Spock's touch, "Apparently, you never deactivated me as Captain of the Enterprise," he replied in a quiet voice. "I'm not sure what good I will be as a blind Captain or if I even want it…"

"The Enterprise will not be ready for months," Spock replied tonelessly. "Technological advances…"

A loud alarm suddenly blared, "Shock Code in Trauma One!" an automated voice reported.

Spock frowned as Arianne, who hadn't bothered to change, suddenly came into view trembling and crying, "Lieutenant Pike?" Spock called out, prompting Arianne to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"Admiral Marcus and a couple of MP's showed up at our quarters this morning," Arianne explained in a shaky voice as she came over to the table and sat at the end, impulsively grabbing a sausage off of Jim's plate. "I don't know how or when it happened, but they told Leonard that his mother died."

Captain Pike frowned and Jim sighed sadly, "Where's Bones at?" Jim asked. "I can empathize."

"He threw up all over Admiral Marcus and the MP's and then passed out, so Admiral Marcus called for a medi-shuttle," Arianne explained shakily. "The MP's brought me over and dropped me off here, but the medics said Leonard threw up seven times in the ambulance and his blood pressure bottomed out to the point where he's in massive shock. Doctor Kirk and Doctor Marcus are both in there…"

Swallowing hard, Jim silently pushed his half-finished plate over, "Eat," he said. "That's an order."

Arianne gave Jim a look, but dug into his food, "Spock, come on," Jim said in a quiet voice as he slowly stood up and extended his cane. "Maybe I can talk to him or you can help him somehow."

Spock looked reluctant, but got up and walked over to Jim, "If you believe our presence will help, I will trust your judgment," he spoke tonelessly, taking Jim's hand. "I will guide you there personally."

Jim nodded and Spock quietly guided him into the Medical part of the building and into the room marked 'Trauma One.' Spock observed that Leonard was lying unconscious on a gurney with a breathing apparatus over his face while several blankets covered him up to the neck save for a hand that was draped over the gurney bar with a dripline in his hand. A biomonitor above the bed was monitoring vitals while Sam and Carol silently worked on a console that was attached to the side of the bed.

"Doctor McCoy is unconscious and receiving medicinal and oxygen support," Spock spoke tonelessly as he led Jim over to the gurney and guided Jim's hands to Leonard's. "Do you feel his hand?"

Sam watched curiously as Jim gently slipped his hand into Leonard's, "There is a dripline on the top of his hand, but I believe touching the palm will relax him," Spock instructed tonelessly.

Jim nodded and fumbled around Leonard's hand until he managed to turn it over and gently ran his fingers across the palm, "Is that a Vulcan relaxation technique?" Carol asked, eyeing Jim's movement.

Leonard's hand suddenly twitched and the biomonitor blipped just as a faint groan emitted from the breathing mask, "Doctor McCoy?" Sam asked in a concerned voice as he pulled a penlight out of his pocket and shone it in Leonard's eyes. "Doctor McCoy, it's Doctor Kirk. Can you hear me?"

"Mmm," Leonard tried to speak, but was muffled by the breather as he opened his eyes.

Sam quickly removed the breathing mask and replaced it with a nasal tube, "What…?" Leonard said in a tired voice, feeling somewhat disoriented. "Did…did I puke all over Admiral Marcus and two MP's?"

Jim's eyes widened in shock, "Arianne said you did," he replied softly. "Can I do anything, Bones?"

"Just be there for me," Leonard spoke in a tired voice. "Can I get this bed raised a little bit?"

Carol nodded and pressed a few buttons, sighing when the bed raised, "You've got heated blankets on you, so just relax," she replied in a quiet voice. "Admiral Marcus is handling the arrangements."

Leonard nodded and promptly closed his eyes, "Tell Arianne to feed herself and our kid," he said in a tired voice, fighting the urge to sleep as much as he could. "I've got so much to take care of…"

Jim nodded and frowned as Leonard began to cry quietly, "Bones," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Doctor McCoy, might I recommend a mild sedative so you can get some proper rest?" Sam asked in a concerned voice, eyeing the monitor above the bed. "I don't like your bioreadings at all."

Leonard scoffed, ready to argue and Jim silently touched his arm, "Bones, _please_ ," Jim whispered.

"All right," Leonard replied quietly. "Will you see if I can at least get my mom's body for burial?"

Jim nodded and Spock watched as Sam quickly prepped a hypospray with a sedative, "Just think pleasant thoughts," Sam spoke softly, gently injecting the hypospray into Leonard's neck.

Spock sighed as Leonard drifted off into a deep sleep, "Doctor McCoy is now asleep and we should leave so that the medical staff is able to take care of him," he spoke tonelessly. "You must finish breakfast."

Swallowing hard, Jim stretched out his cane and allowed Spock to guide him out of the room.

* * *

 _ **Memoriam Gardens**_

Irritated that she had been ordered to attend counseling over her time on the Enterprise and find something useful to do with her time, Nyota came out of the Recreation Building and immediately paused when she saw Arianne walking along the wall that held names and photos of the dead.

The memorial wall wasn't a giant secret, nor was it easy to ignore simply because it was the way Starfleet kept track of the many losses around the world. Nyota had visited it once, as had most of the crew, but she hadn't seen Arianne there and knew that Arianne's father was here alive and well.

Nyota silently watched as Arianne moved to the far end of the wall, silently slip a photo into one of the empty photo holders, and type information into the small computer below the photo, "Arianne?" she asked softly as she came over to her friend. "I haven't seen you for a few days. How are you?"

"Len got word this morning from Marcus and the MP's about his mother," Arianne replied softly.

Nyota's eyes widened and Arianne sniffled as she tried to hold the tears in, "This baby and I are all the family Len has left," Arianne spoke softly. "Len took it badly and threw up all over Marcus and the MP's before passing out. He threw up seven times in the ambulance and is now at the hospital. Jim gave me the rest of his breakfast and my father told me to go take it easy, so I went and got dressed."

"And you look tired," Nyota replied in a concerned voice. "Do you have any distractions?"

Arianne sighed, "Len's been working very hard and I've simply been trying to adjust being off Delta Vega, because it's not an easy thing," she replied softly. "When I woke up in that station on Delta Vega, Ambassador Spock told me that I had nearly died along with the baby, but he and Keenser managed to nurse me back to health with a lot of water and that Starfleet protein crap. I'm so overwhelmed."

"Aren't there counselors around the base?" Nyota asked in a confused voice. "I thought…"

Arianne looked uncomfortable, "The OBGYN staff here have been cordial to me at best and that's only because I'm pregnant," she replied softly. "I'm thinking of getting an assignment at another base once the baby's born because they know my history here and I've heard comments about so many parents who would love the baby because they lost kids in the attack on Earth. I've been working on looking for another base with my free time or I might go use my status to go work at the Vulcan Compound. They think I'm some sort of Romulan spy because Nero didn't harm me like he did Jim and my father."

"Are you serious?" Nyota replied in an upset voice. "Arianne, have you told anyone about this?"

There was a silence and Nyota's eyes widened as Stonn suddenly came out looking amused, "It is so very early in the morning," Stonn said darkly, his hair messy and his newly developed goatee making him look like a thug because of the dark clothes he was wearing. "Two lovely Starfleet officers walking around unaccompanied is quite dangerous in these uncertain times. Khan would enjoy your company."

"Khan?" Arianne asked in a confused voice. "Khan as in the guy who taught at the Academy?"

Stonn nodded, suddenly looking enthusiastic, "He has a very lovely medical retreat on Botany Bay Island," he replied calmly. "He is quite interested in meeting survivors of Romulan torture."

"You have two minutes to leave or _I'll_ deal with you," an anxious voice suddenly spoke out.

Arianne and Nyota turned and were surprised to see Jim standing there with holding a strange looking weapon in one hand while holding his cane in the other, "You're that wanted guy, right?" Jim asked, having been attracted to the scene by the sound of Stonn's voice. "The one who messed with…"

"And you're the _ever so blind_ James Kirk," Stonn hissed. "Be careful where you point that thing."

The phaser suddenly lit up at the sound of Stonn's voice, "Funny thing is, I made this thing back in San Francisco when I was losing my sight and I programmed it to obey orders without harming anyone I didn't tell it to harm," Jim replied calmly. "Captain Pike gave it back when I was rested enough."

Unsure if Jim was being serious, Nyota moved herself and Arianne out of the way, "Lock on Stonn," Jim said, sighing as he heard the beeps indicating that his command had been processed. "Well?"

Stonn raised an eyebrow and silently retrieved a phaser from his own pocket, frowning when Arianne ran over to a lightpole that held an emergency alarm and smacked it, "Silent alarm," Arianne snapped.

Swearing in Vulcan, Stonn aimed his phaser at Jim and fired, but Jim instinctively moved and returned the shot, striking Stonn in the shoulder, "Khan will be _ever so delighted_ to meet you," Stonn breathed as he shakily lifted his hand to his wrist and spoke in a shaky Vulcan as Security officers closed in.

Jim swore as he suddenly felt himself being teleported away, "NO!" he screamed as he vanished.

"Jim!" Arianne called out in an anxious voice, horrified. "Nyota, you gotta go find Admiral Marcus!"

Stonn smirked as he was forced to the ground by Base Security, "Khan's science will either save Kirk or kill him," he spoke in a dark voice as people, including the Enterprise crew and Captain Pike, suddenly flooded out of the buildings to see what was going on. "I know how _little_ you all care for him."

* * *

 ** _Liberty Base Medical Center/ Culinary Atrium_**

"…If you don't wake him with that hypo, I will do it!" an angry voice shouted. "We need him!"

There was a hiss and Leonard's eyes popped open, "Doctor McCoy, get a uniform on," Leonard saw Captain Pike say in an anxious voice as he wheeled over to the bed. "I know you've got questions about your mother, but there's a more pressing matter. Jim was teleported off to Botany Bay Island nearly two hours ago and you're needed because you're the only physician Jim really trusts around here."

Frowning, Leonard sat up and saw that his room was filled with uniformed officers, "What?" he asked in a confused voice. "Jim was here, but then he left with Spock. What did Spock leave him alone for?"

A pile of clothes was suddenly tossed on his bed, "Spock's gone ahead to Botany Bay Island," Captain Pike replied in an anxious voice. "Stonn showed up, threatened Lieutenant Pike and Lieutenant Uhura, and had Jim teleported away. Apparently, Khan's been interested in meeting torture survivors."

Leonard swore, got out of bed, and quickly got dressed, "Where's Arianne?" he asked anxiously.

"Lieutenant Uhura and Arianne went over to the Command Building," Captain Pike replied in an anxious voice. "Admiral Marcus wanted her to take it easy and you can imagine what she told him."

Leonard snorted and noticed that his driplines were gone, "We know that Khan's an Earth operative of Nero," Captain Pike said in an anxious voice. "We're assembling strike teams to destroy the island base and rescue Kirk so that Khan doesn't have time to tell Nero that Starfleet's building itself back up."

"Tell me what I have to do," Leonard replied anxiously, knowing that Jim had no chance against someone like Khan without his sight or any ability to defend himself. "I'll do anything."

* * *

 _ **Botany Bay Island – New York**_

"… _WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TOUCHING HIS BACK?!"_

There was a scream followed by a gunshot that prompted Jim to shudder and whimper, only to find that his voice was muffled, "Try not to inhale too much, Lieutenant Kirk," a smooth voice. "You might pass out and I would certainly like you awake for my experiments. You are quite an interesting project."

It was then that Jim realized he was suspended above the ground and tethered in place by stretchy ropes and wearing nothing but a loose gown, "I know you can't see and it is very unfortunate that Nero got carried away with the recreation he provides for his science projects, but I have quite interesting medicines that will provoke some interesting reactions," Jim heard a smooth voice say. "Shall we continue? I've only had you for a couple of hours and you've proven to be most troublesome."

Flashes of color filled Jim's vision as he felt a scar that had been on his abdomen since the Narada being sliced open, "Your intestines are quite scarred from that disgusting slug," Jim heard the voice say, his eyes widening in horror as he heard the sound of a laser. "I doubt you've eaten anything useful."

Suddenly, the door burst open and Spock entered with a weapon drawn, "Release him," Spock spoke tonelessly. "There is a detachment of Liberty Base security dealing with your men at this very…"

"Oh, shall I leave him to bleed out?" Khan asked coldly. "If you wish me to stop, I can."

Spock frowned as he approached Khan with his weapon at the ready, shocked when he saw that Jim's abdomen had been cut open and that Khan was repairing intestinal scarring with a laser, "What are you doing?" Spock asked tonelessly, seeing that Jim was slowly passing out. "What have you done to him?"

"I believe forced him to inhale laughing gas so he would not feel pain," Khan, who was wearing black scrubs and a navy lab coat, replied as he finished the repairs. "I am a medical doctor and Nero is a fool to think I would simply report to him. Collecting and studying torture survivors is quite fascinating."

Spock responded by pressing the phaser into Khan's head, "Remove that phaser from my head, Vulcan, or I shall simply let your fellow officer bleed to death," Khan spoke as he dropped the instrument.

The door burst open and shouting filled the room as Liberty Base Security and Leonard burst into the room. Spock reluctantly removed the phaser from Khan's head and Khan smirked, "I will repair this incision if you do me no harm," Khan said smoothly. "Or you could let Mister Kirk asphyxiate."

"Spock, what are you doing?" Leonard asked in an anxious voice, his eyes wide as Spock picked up an instrument from a nearby tray and handed it to Khan. "Cut Jim down from this and let's go."

Spock, however, backed away and Khan smirked again as he silently used the tool to seal the incision up before tossing it aside, " _Really_ , all these dramatics over experimentation," Khan said in an annoyed voice as he stood, turned, and raised his hands in surrender. "Very well, I surrender to you."

Anxiety filled Spock as he quickly undid the tethers holding Jim in place and removed the mask from Jim's face, swearing when Jim was non responsive, "Lie him down on the floor!" Leonard snapped.

Khan smirked as he was hustled from the room by Liberty Base Security while a few Enterprise officers, including Hendorff, lingered, "Come on, Jim," Leonard grunted as he started CPR. "Start breathing!"

Spock quickly opened Leonard's bag and extracted a portable breathing tank, frowning when Jim suddenly gasped and started coughing anxiously, his hands and feet swollen from the tethers, "Jim!" Leonard said in an anxious voice, quickly grabbing the tank from Spock and fitting Jim with the mask.

Anxiety filled Jim as he tried to fight the mask and Spock swiftly delivered a nerve pinch to his shoulder, causing Jim to pass out, "Didn't that idiot know Kirk was blind?" Hendorff growled angrily.

Leonard scoffed, sighing as the portable tank showed that Jim's oxygen levels were slowly returning to normal, "Get a medical shuttle over here," he said in an angry voice. "First my mom dies, now _this_."

* * *

 ** _Liberty Command Building_**

Admiral Marcus sighed heavily, watching the chronometer flip to 1200 before he looked up and saw Jim, who had been examined, given a clean uniform, and discharged, seated on the couch looking tired, "I hope you're training you're OB staff to treat people with respect," Jim spoke in a raspy voice, his hand on his abdomen as he looked straight ahead. "Lieutenant Pike told me some interesting things."

"You were tortured and operated on by Khan Noonien Singh and you should be at the hospital resting," Admiral Marcus replied firmly. "You're as stubborn as Pike and I know you won't listen to me."

Jim scoffed, "That staff is treating Arianne like a Romulan spy and you don't give a crap, old man," he replied in a slightly unsteady voice because he was still under the influence of the gas. "She was seduced by Nero and then thrown out into space by that freaky assistant of his. She spent three months on Delta Vega and when she finally comes back? She's not loved, but told she should give her baby up…"

Admiral Marcus's eyes narrowed slightly, as he had no awareness of what Jim was saying, "She's scared to tell Bones cause he's under a lot of stress," Jim said in a dark voice. "She's doing her best, man, but it's not easy being on Earth after spending three months on an ice planet. She needs support!"

Leonard, who had come to see if Jim had escaped the hospital to Admiral Marcus's office, froze in the doorway having heard everything Jim said. Completely unaware that he had just shared Arianne's frustration in earshot of Leonard, Jim closed his eyes, "I'm so tired," he muttered groggily.

"I have no idea how he got here," Admiral Marcus spoke softly. "I'm impressed, though, as he managed to completely build and shoot Stonn with a voice-activated phaser despite being blind."

Leonard nodded, eyed Jim briefly, and sat down at the desk, "The hospital's freaking out about him leaving, but I'll just take him back to the apartments when we're done here," he replied calmly. "You said you had information about how my mother died? It's been a long day, but I'd like to know."

Nodding, Admiral Marcus tapped a few buttons on the computer, "When the attack happened in San Francisco, it incited mass panic and hysteria nationwide and the ecological damage done by Nero's drill caused power outages to many major cities across the country," he explained in a concerned voice. "From what we've been told by our rescue team down there, the local government officials ordered everyone into the city from the surrounding area because resources were available. Your mother came as ordered with only family photos and personal possessions and she, like everyone else, did her best to survive. Eventually, though, resources began to run low and people got scared."

Leonard sighed, but didn't say anything, "The rescue team decided to evacuate people to a more stable area and the locals automatically decided that the weaker ones should get left behind and riots started over families not wanting to be broken up," Admiral Marcus explained. "Your mom was trying to stop children from being separated from their parents and she ended up being killed in the riots."

"Was your team able to get her body?" Leonard replied quietly. "I'd like to bury it somewhere."

Admiral Marcus nodded, "We have an area for burials and the team is supposed to return from the area in a few days," he replied softly, frowning as he suddenly saw Jim lean forward. "Mister Kirk?"

Leonard turned just in time to see Jim expel the contents of his stomach all over the floor, "Uh oh," Jim spoke groggily, slumping back into the leather couch. "I…I think I puked all over the floor…"

"It's all right, Jim," Admiral Marcus replied calmly. "I will get Maintenance to come clean it up, but why don't you let Doctor McCoy here walk you back to the apartments so you can have a little rest?"

Jim coughed, "Walking?" he asked in a groggy voice. "I'm not sure if I can even stand…"

"I'll also get Maintenance to bring you a wheelchair," Admiral Marcus replied calmly. "Hold on."

As Admiral Marcus put in a call to maintenance, Leonard sat on the couch beside Jim and sighed as Jim slumped against him with his eyes closed because the high dose of laughing gas made him tired.

"Command also wants to talk to Mister Kirk once he's able," Admiral Marcus stated. "About Khan."

* * *

 ** _Freedom Residence Building_**

 _I only left Jim for a moment so he could orient himself._ Spock thought bitterly as he opened his bathroom's medicine cabinet and found that he was out of medication he had stolen and used on the Enterprise to relieve his anxiety. _It only took a moment of abandoning him for trouble to come._

The sight of Chekov's razors, which Spock had cleaned and kept, suddenly caught Spock's eye and he found himself removing one from the cabinet. He wondered if it had truly brought Chekov relief.

Lifting his left sleeve, Spock uncapped the razor and slowly ran it down his wrist, gasping at the pain it triggered, but he didn't feel compelled to stop and continued making cuts down his left arm. Green blood trickled down his arm and splattered all over the counter, but Spock began feeling relief for the first time since the Narada, when he had first abandoned Jim, and he slowly closed his eyes.

The door chime sounded, but Spock ignored it and sank to his knees as the light-headedness accompanying blood loss hit him hard, "…I know he eez een here," an anxious voice said. "He came here after ze keptin vas taken off to ze medeecal building, but he eez not answering my comms."

"Alright, lad, calm down," Scotty's voice spoke as beeps filled the room. "We'll check on him."

Footsteps filled Spock's ears, but he slowly sank against the wall because the blood loss was intensifying and it was comforting. Pavel swore anxiously as he came into the bathroom and saw Spock lying against the wall semi-conscious with a razor stained with green blood in his right hand while green blood stained his left wrist, arm, and the counter, "SCOTTY!" Pavel screamed in an anxious voice.

Scotty hurried towards Pavel's shouting and swore loudly as he saw what condition Spock was in, "Get that infernal thing away from him!" Scotty shouted as he hurried from the room to the comm terminal.

Pavel swore in Russian, grabbed the razor from Spock's hand, and chucked it into the sink before grabbing towels off of the wall and wrapping them tightly around Spock's entire left arm, "A medi-shuttle's been dispatched," Scotty spoke anxiously as he returned to the bathroom. "Ugh."

"…Just lay in bed and rest, Jim," a Southern drawl echoed through the wall. "There you go."

Pavel's eyes widened and he bolted from Spock's quarters, "Keptin Pike's quarters are right next door," he muttered as he hurried away, leaving Scotty alone with Spock to keep pressure on his arm.

Scotty sighed and held the towels on Spock's wounds, listening through the wall as Pavel gravitated between hysterical sobbing and talking while Leonard and Captain Pike responded anxiously.

Swear words filled the air as Leonard burst into Spock's quarters with his medkit handy and quickly fished his medical tricorder out, his expression concerned as he scanned Spock and suddenly noticed the array of empty pill bottles that he had logged being missing from the Enterprise Sickbay months ago.

Loud noise filled the apartment as Liberty Base medics suddenly flooded into the room with more medical supplies and a hover gurney, "Not another one!" one of the medics said anxiously as two medics pushed their way into the bathroom. "Oh _no_ , it's Ambassador Sarek's son…crap."

Leonard sighed, as the hospital had been recently overrun with Vulcans requiring help with emotional and physical distress over the loss of their planet. He had done his best to help them on the Enterprise, but the whole being on Earth and away from all that they knew was proving difficult for them.

The medics gently lifted Spock from the floor and on to the hovergurney before putting a breathing mask over his face and putting his wrapped arm over his chest, "I'll come with you," Leonard said in an anxious voice as he moved to the gurney. "Put me on record as Spock's physician for this…"

As the group moved out of the bathroom, Scotty stared at the mess and started to cry.

* * *

 ** _Liberty Base Medical Center/ Culinary Atrium_**

Two hours had passed since Spock had been rushed into the hospital bleeding heavily from self-inflicted wounds and Ambassador Sarek sat alone in the waiting room, deep in thought. He had been contacted by Captain Pike about Spock and had not hesitated to come over from the Vulcan Compound.

Having been on the Enterprise with Spock since Vulcan had been destroyed, Sarek was painfully aware that Spock had been suffering in silence since the order to retreat from the Narada was given, an order that had left three of his closest comrades in the hands of evil and himself in charge of the many souls on board the crippled ship. Sarek had tried to help as best he was able, but he too grieved deeply.

"Ambassador Sarek," a quiet, very familiar voice spoke. "Ambassador, I heard about Spock…"

Sarek looked up and was surprised to see Arianne standing there with a shaken Nyota, "Arianne Pike," he spoke tonelessly, comforted by his surrogate daughter's presence. "It is comforting to see you."

Arianne nodded and sat beside Ambassador Sarek while Nyota sat on the other side of him, "Ambassador Spock told me of your experience on Delta Vega," Ambassador Sarek spoke softly, his emotions unsteady. "When I am more emotionally stable, I would like to see those experiences."

"Of course," Arianne replied softly. "Father Sarek, I will help you however I can with Spock."

Sarek gave Arianne a look, "I have heard that James Kirk had an encounter with Khan Singh," he spoke tonelessly. "I would that you also take time to help him, as he too is your very close friend…"

"Doctor McCoy and Captain Pike are seeing to him," Arianne replied softly. "I am very aware that you and the other elders do not trust the psychological staff here and I would like to be of assistance."

Sarek nodded and exhaled slowly, "Nyota, will you consent to be supportive of him after this?" he asked, gazing at Nyota with deep eyes. "This emotional distress may not have an easy treatment."

"I'm not going to abandon Spock," Nyota replied in a firm voice. "He…he needs support."

Before Sarek could reply, Leonard came into the waiting room looking tired, "Spock lost a lot of blood, but we managed to stabilize him and he required about fifty stitches in his left arm," Leonard explained quietly. "Ambassador, you are the only one with the same blood as Spock and this hospital has a little bit, but we need the extra blood to bring Spock's levels back up. Would you mind donating blood?"

Sarek silently rose, "May I be allowed to donate blood where Spock is recovering?" he asked softly.

Leonard nodded and led Sarek down the corridor while Arianne and Nyota trailed behind until they stopped at a small, private patient room. Through the transparent door, Arianne could see that Spock was unconscious in bed with a breather over his face and his left arm was heavily bandaged and in a shoulder sling while driplines of fluid, medication, and blood littered his pale right arm. A patient gown covered Spock's torso while a blanket covered his body from the waist down to the floor.

"Please, Arianne, Nyota, come sit with me a while," Sarek spoke softly. "I require company."

Leonard led the group into the room and Nyota quickly retrieved a chair for Sarek and placed it near the bed, relieved when Sarek sat down, "If you would take my blood, Doctor, I will do what I can for Spock's broken mind," Ambassador Sarek spoke tonelessly, gently placing his hand on the side of Spock's face.

* * *

 _ **Liberty Base Security Barracks**_

Khan smirked as he saw the cellblock door open and Commander Hendorff come in accompanied by a sour looking Hendorff and two Liberty Base guards, "Nero's operative," Commander Hendorff said as she faced the direction of the cell. "I told you next time you faced me it would be your life, Khan."

"And what would you do to me when I offered you the chance at sight, Angelina?" Khan asked in a dark voice, amused by Hendorff's wide-eyed reaction. "Your mother, boy, refused my help because I am a criminal and your mother is too pure to accept help even if it would help her be able to see you."

Hendorff scowled, but said nothing, "It was unfortunate that I only had James Kirk in my possession for two hours," Khan said coldly. "With my medical knowledge, I could have repaired his back and his sight."

"Your boss, Nero, took it away with a Romulan slug, Khan," Commander Hendorff spoke. "Why…?"

Khan chuckled, "I am not Nero's puppet," he replied darkly. "Nero is quite busy tearing apart Starfleet vessels in the Laurentian System and is too busy to care what I am doing here with my free time."

Commander Hendorff's eyes widened in shock and Khan chuckled, "Oh, yes, your precious Starfleet is being taken down to nothing in space," Khan crooned. "This base is too small for him to care about."

"You'll face trial soon," Commander Hendorff replied sharply. "And then you will pay the price."

Deeply shaken by Khan's words, Commander Hendorff and her son silently left the cellblock.

* * *

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	10. Brutal Natural Selection

_**Three Days Later**_

 _ **Liberty Base Security Compound**_

The sound of the entrance door opening didn't faze Hendorff, as he had been working at the base for weeks and Security personnel were always coming and going, "Yes?" he asked, not looking up.

"I want to talk to Khan," Jim's tired voice spoke, prompting Hendorff to look up and gape at Jim, who was supposed to be recovering from his ordeal, standing there in civvies with his cane in front of him.

Hendorff sighed, "Kirk, I don't know how you got from the apartments to here, but Marcus and Pike would have a right fit if I let you see Khan," he replied calmly. "You should be in bed resting."

Unable to see where Hendorff was because his sight had slowly worsened back to where he could only see black and white, Jim sighed, "Call your higher-ups then," he replied. "I'm not leaving…"

Anxiety filled Jim and he broke into a coughing fit, his lungs still raw and his throat sore from the overdose of laughing gas, "Khan told me at his place that he could heal me and restore my sight," he said in a shaky voice. "They haven't done my brain therapy in three days because they're scared it will interact with the meds I'm on for healing, but the meds are making me lose my sight even faster."

Hendorff frowned and sighed in resignation, knowing that Jim would try to break down the Brig door until he exhausted himself if he wasn't allowed in, "Okay," he said softly. "But I go with you."

Jim sighed, but didn't argue as he felt Hendorff take his arm and navigate him into the cell block, shivering when he felt the cold air brush across his arm, "James Kirk," Khan spoke coldly.

"You…you said at your lab that you had medicines and surgical ability to help me feel better and help me see again," Jim spoke anxiously. "They took my brain therapy away and put me on meds to help me breathe, but my vision's getting worse and soon it will be completely gone. I need your help."

Khan's eyebrows raised and he slowly got up and walked over to the forcefield, "I heard talk of the Enterprise being mothballed and us having to stay here," Jim breathed in an anxious voice, struggling not to cough as his anxiety rose. "I'm just being told to stay in bed, take medicine, and read my Braille books and I'm not allowed to do anything on the base. Pike's trying to help, but it's not working."

"I would help if I was allowed," Khan replied calmly. "I have no desire to cause harm to any torture survivors, but Starfleet sees me as a dangerous criminal because of my super strength and abilities."

Jim nodded, "Spock tried to kill himself because he was guilty over leaving me behind on the Narada and Captain Pike's facing demotion because he won't stop trying to get Starfleet to find me something to do," he breathed anxiously. "Marcus came to see me this morning and said that the city has some wonderful civilian programs for blind people and that I should consider involving myself in them."

Hendorff's eyes widened in surprise, as he had heard his mother and Admiral Marcus talking about the situation they were now facing because the base simply wasn't equipped to support a ship's crew for long-term along with the survivors of the attack and civilians. It was proving impossible for Starfleet to maintain their level of resources with everyone they had on the base. Admiral Marcus had also met with Captain Pike about the possibility of sending the Vulcans to a colony in the Middle East where they would be able to live comfortably while the Enterprise crew be split up and sent to different outposts.

Captain Pike had been furious, his argument being that the Enterprise crew had been through a great deal since the Narada and relied on each other for support. Admiral Marcus had appreciated the argument, but stated that able-bodied officers would be needed to help the surviving world's population rebuild what had been lost and that the base couldn't handle so many long-term.

After hours of argument, Captain Pike had reluctantly agreed to tell the crew and allow them the choice of where they wanted to go and who they wanted to go with. The crew had been gathered last night and under Admiral Marcus's supervision, they had been told the situation and had been given time to decide where they wanted to go. Captain Pike had asked about Jim at Jim's request and had been told that New York had some terrific civilian programs for the blind and Jim should investigate them.

Now, while Captain Pike remained assigned to Liberty Base Command because traipsing the broken world in a wheelchair wasn't feasible, Jim had found himself alone and helpless. While his crew and friends had slept with much on their mind, Jim had left letters in Leonard and Arianne's quarters before dressing in civvies, gathering his things, and coming here to see if there was another option.

"Nero left me to have free reign," Khan spoke quietly. "I will not be returning to space."

Jim nodded, sighing, "You either help me, or I march out of here and throw myself in front of a hovercar," he replied, deeply resigned. "I've been thinking about it since Spock hurt himself."

Hendorff's eyes went wide and he marched over to the cell, swearing as he deactivated the forcefield, "Take Kirk and help him," he said in an anxious voice. "I'll deal with the consequences of it."

Unable to hold back coughs anymore, Jim threw up and he collapsed to the floor, "You will excuse me if I do make haste," Khan said as he bolted from the cell and went over to where Jim lay, dry heaving.

Swallowing hard, Hendorff watched as Khan took Jim's wrist, pressed a button on his watch, and dematerialized from the cell. He knew that he would be in deep trouble over what he had done.

* * *

 ** _Liberty Base Command Building_**

The office was crowded as Commander Hendorff, Captain Pike, Leonard, Arianne, Scotty, Pavel, Hikaru, a deeply shaken Spock, Sam, Carol, Hannity, Nyota, and Hawkins all crowded into Admiral Marcus's office while two guards stood with a handcuffed Hendorff in the corner of the room, "…Kirk wasn't ever going to get better," Admiral Marcus said in a heavy voice. "His vision was never going to come back…"

"So you ordered me to drug my brother with medicine you knew would damage his lungs til he died?!" Sam shouted in an angry voice. "The world is broken, yes, but it doesn't mean you can kill people."

Admiral Marcus scoffed, "Admiral Archer and his rescue teams are bringing evacuees in all the time and many are able-bodied who can help rebuild the world," he replied in a dark tone. "Starfleet as it is now doesn't have the resources to help those who aren't able bodied. As it is, Commander Hendorff will be returning to London and Captain Pike will be taking up her position as Chief of Security here simply because Commander Hendorff can find resources in London that will help her life be easier."

"So you're letting Jim go off with an Augument and you don't care?" Leonard growled angrily.

Admiral Marcus sighed as Leonard reached into his pocket and pulled out the letters he had found in the apartment when he and Arianne had woken, "Jim says he wishes us all the best in our new assignments," Leonard snapped angrily. "I've also been told that we're going to be assigned to a city because my fiancé's having a baby and Starfleet's encouraging repopulation efforts."

"I'm going to the Middle East with Spock," Nyota spoke shakily. "We formed a bond last night."

Admiral Marcus looked amused, "I see you've been embracing this, Lieutenant," he replied.

"Nyota…is not _embracing_ anything," Spock replied in a tired voice. "We do not have a choice."

Arianne sighed tiredly as she silently reached into her pocket and extracted a PADD that she had worked on the day before, "Here," she spoke tiredly, offering it to Admiral Marcus. "I had an education before I joined Starfleet and I'm just a measly Lieutenant who must be a Romulan spy because Nero tried to seduce me on the Narada before sending me to Delta Vega. I've been in touch with people in London and I've accepted a position as a counselor at the Royal Hospital for three weeks from now."

Leonard gave her a look, nodded, and stood up to stretch his tired legs, "As much fun as this natural selection session is, I have work to do," he replied in an irritated voice. "I'm a doctor and…"

A whirring sound suddenly filled the room and Leonard suddenly dematerialized with his medkit in hand, "SECURITY!" Admiral Marcus boomed as he hit the alert button. "Security to Command!"

* * *

 ** _Atlamid Hospital – Botany Bay Island - Rural China_**

Leonard materialized on a pad only to find himself in a peaceful looking atrium that was decorated with Asian artefacts and simple, but comfortable looking furniture, "Doctor McCoy of Starfleet?" a voice asked as a man wearing martial arts robes came into the atrium. "Please…McCoy…follow me."

"Where am I?" Leonard asked as he stepped off of the pad. "Why was I beamed here?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "I assure you that you are safe," he replied. "Please follow me."

Swallowing hard, Leonard followed the man down the hallway and his eyes widened as they went into a large surgical room. Wearing nothing but a blue gown, Jim was lying unconscious on an operating table having his thin, terribly abused body being tended to nurses who worked at various machines holding his body to the table while Khan worked at a machine that was holding Jim's head to the table.

"Doctor Singh," the man said calmly. "Doctor Leonard McCoy has arrived safely."

Khan nodded, "Come over here, Doctor McCoy," he instructed, not looking up from his work.

Leonard silently walked over to the table, "Starfleet Officer Hendorff released me as Mister Kirk collapsed with breathing difficulties," Khan spoke quietly. "Poisoned by Starfleet medicine."

"What?!" Leonard replied in a shocked voice. "I haven't been overseeing Jim's treatment!"

Khan sighed, "I do know this," he replied calmly. "Doctor Samuel Kirk has been overseeing it."

Leonard swore, "Mister Kirk will be quite comfortable and be given the status of torture survivor and liberated prisoner of war on this island when he wakes," Khan spoke calmly. "I have arranged it and I have also arranged for you serve as his recovery caregiver simply because he trusts you."

"I have a fiancé' and a baby on the way," Leonard replied anxiously. "I can't just…"

Khan nodded, "I am aware," he replied tonelessly. "My connections in London will brief Lieutenant Pike to the situation when she arrives there. This island is quite peaceful and safe from Starfleet's reach."

A faint gasp filled the air and Leonard frowned as Jim opened his eyes, "Where am I?" he whimpered.

"Do not fret, Mister Kirk," Khan replied as he motioned for his nurses to prepare pain medicine that would allow Jim to sleep painlessly through the procedures. "You are quite safe from Starfleet."

Jim gasped and whimpered, "My chest," he gasped. "I can't…I can't see what's happening!"

"Jim, you're okay," Leonard spoke in a calm voice, touching Jim's hand. "I wouldn't lie to you."

Jim froze, "Bones, where are we?!" he asked anxiously. "Sam…Sam said he had orders…"

A nurse brought a hypospray over to Khan and he looked at Leonard, "I'm sorry I have to do this, Jim, but you need to calm down," Leonard said as he took the hypo and moved up to Jim's neck.

Jim whimpered as the hypospray was delivered, but silently allowed himself to drift off.

* * *

 _ **Liberty Base – New York**_

The meeting had quickly ended and Arianne had been escorted back to the apartment she and Leonard had shared for mandatory resting. She had been ordered to rest, eat, and pack for London, but her resignation had been refused. Spock and Nyota had come with her against orders to help her.

"I do have a plan that would bring us to safety," Spock spoke as he sat on the couch with Arianne.

Swallowing hard, Arianne remained silent as Nyota joined them on the couch to listen, "I'm listening, Spock," Arianne said in an anxious voice. "I feel like our Enterprise family is being torn apart."

* * *

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